Seoul sends additional rescue team to Nepal for nine missing Koreans

The Korean government is sending an additional joint rapid response team to Nepal to support search and rescue efforts for nine Koreans who remain missing after a devastating flood.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that the additional team, comprising one ministry official and eight firefighters, would depart from Incheon International Airport at 2 p.m. and arrive in Kathmandu at around 5 p.m. on Saturday.

The government previously dispatched an 11-member rapid response team to Nepal on Thursday.

The nine additional members will join the existing team in search and rescue operations for the missing Koreans.

The accident site is inaccessible by road and can only be reached by helicopter. However, Nepalese authorities have restricted helicopter flights for foreigners over concerns about the risk of additional flooding.

The government response team, together with Doosan Enerbility and Korea South-East Power (KOEN), has secured six helicopters in Kathmandu. But due to restrictions imposed by Nepalese authorities, only one helicopter operated by KOEN was able to conduct search operations on Friday.

As of Saturday, the government team had yet to receive permission for helicopter flights, with only one helicopter operated by Doosan Enerbility reportedly receiving approval.

Four of the nine missing people have family members in Nepal, while the families of the other five remain in Korea, according to the Foreign Ministry.

The death toll from the massive flood in the border between Nepal and the Tibet region of China had risen to 584 in the two countries as of Friday, while the number of people reported missing had approached 2,500.

Nine Koreans remain out of contact, while 10 others who had been stranded have since been moved to safety. The Koreans were working on constructing a hydropower plant in the area.

BY YOON SEUNG-JIN [[email protected]]