Nine rescued Korean workers return home as nine remain missing in Nepal

Nine Doosan Enerbility employees rescued after being cut off by flooding in Nepal returned to Korea on Monday.

However, a site manager rescued with them remained in Nepal to help search for colleagues still unaccounted for.

The nine landed in Korea on Monday afternoon and, after health checks, went home to their families, the company said.

"The nine employees are physically and psychologically exhausted after the sudden disaster and days cut off," Doosan Enerbility said. "We believed that what mattered most was respecting their wishes, keeping outside contact to a minimum and letting them settle down through a quiet reunion with their families."

“Above all, six of their colleagues remain missing, and their families are anxiously waiting for them to return home safely,” the company said. “We are prioritizing the search and rescue effort, focusing every effort on it.”

The nine had been stranded in the flood zone since last Wednesday, when the flood struck, and were flown to safety by helicopter. The site manager stayed behind, saying he would remain until all the workers on site had been rescued, and moved to a safe area on Friday.

Nine Koreans remain missing: six Doosan Enerbility employees and three from Korea South-East Power.

A flash flood struck the Rasuwa district on Wednesday morning, sweeping through the construction site for the Upper Trishuli-1 hydropower project. The site sits on the Trishuli River, about 70 kilometers (43 miles) northwest of Kathmandu.

BY KIM EUN-BIN [[email protected]]