No traces of 9 missing Koreans in Nepal despite gov't rescue efforts
The government's rapid response team plans to continue both on-the-ground and aerial searches, as the latter depends on approval from the Nepalese military and the weather.
Members of a Korean government rapid response team wait after their vehicle is blocked due to road conditions near Battar in Bidur, Nepal, on Aug. 31.YONHAP
The government’s rapid response team found no trace of the nine missing Koreans in Nepal after using helicopters and drones to search for them on Monday, six days after the devastating floods.
“Some of [us] arrived by road and made it to Dhunche within a day. We also [separately] deployed a helicopter,” a rescue team official told reporters at a hotel in Kathmandu, Nepal, on Monday. “Unfortunately, we were unable to make any meaningful progress [in our search].”
Those who reached Dhunche reportedly deployed a drone in their search.
Dhunche is about 30 kilometers (18.6 miles) from Rasuwa District in Bagmati Province, where the floods struck.
The team is also conducting on-the-ground operations in coordination with the Nepalese military.
“We are communicating closely with the military authorities at the site,” the official said. “We hope that the search can proceed as quickly as possible and produce meaningful results.”
Doosan Enerbility deployed one helicopter for an aerial search at around 11:03 a.m. on Monday. A helicopter secured by the government team took off for another search a few hours later at around 2:08 p.m.
The nine missing Koreans were working at the Upper Trishuli-1 hydropower project construction site in Bagmati when the floods hit. Six are Doosan Enerbility employees, and the other three are from Korea South-East Power.
Members of the Nepal Army head back after collecting bodies — that were washed away by flash floods and a mudslide — in the Narayani River in Chitwan, Nepal, on Aug. 31.REUTERS/YONHAP
The rapid response team plans to continue both on-the-ground and aerial searches, as the latter depends on approval from the Nepalese military and the weather.
“Given the […] circumstances, we will approach this with an extraordinary sense of resolve and do everything that we can to support the search and rescue of our citizens,” Park Jae-kyung, Korea’s new ambassador to Nepal, said. “I take up this post with a very heavy heart.”
Park added that he has personally met with the families of those who are missing.
Meanwhile, the Nepalese military said that a body was recovered from a tunnel at the Upper Trishuli-1 plant in Bagmati Province on Monday, according to AFP. The victim’s nationality and identity, however, have yet to be confirmed.
Rescuers evacuate a person from a tunnel of a hydropower project after flash floods and a mudslide in Rasuwa, Nepal, in this still image from a video released on Aug. 28.OFFICE OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND COUNCIL OF MINISTERS OF NEPAL
A Chinese rescue team assisting Nepalese operations discovered the body after advancing about 300 meters (984.3 feet) into the tunnel during its search.
Independent Power Producers’ Association, Nepal has also stated that 576 people from the plant remain out of contact, with about 300 believed to be trapped inside the tunnel.
Two more bodies were recovered from a tunnel at another facility, the Chilime hydropower plant, that same day.
An Indian rescue team made it about 100 meters inside but could go no farther because mud and other debris blocked the tunnel.
This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
