Bahk Eun-ji has been with The Korea Times since 2012, building a career across multiple desks. She began at the Business Desk, where she conducted in-depth interviews with key figures in Korea's corporate world. Later, she moved to the Politics & City Desk, focusing on education policy and social affairs. She later served as team leader of the digital content team, leading curation efforts on the newspaper’s homepage and reshaping print stories for social media audiences to enhance digital reach. Now back on the Politics Desk, she covers the National Assembly and the Ministry of National Defense, with a renewed focus on political developments.
Search for missing Koreans continues in Nepal
Ministry of Foreign Affairs staff leave Incheon International Airport for Nepal, Sunday. /Yonhap
By Bahk Eun-ji
By Bahk Eun-ji
An additional emergency team has been sent to assist Nepalese government efforts to find four Korean teachers and two Nepalese missing in the Annapurna region after an avalanche, the government said Sunday.
According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, a Nepalese land and air search has failed to find anyone.
The missing people are believed to be buried under at least four meters of snow. The search has also been hampered by plunging temperatures and heavy snow, amid fears of another avalanche.
The search team will stay at the Deurali Lodge, near the site of the accident.
The avalanche happened at about 10.30 a.m. to 11a.m.at about 3,230 meters close to the base camp for Annapurna, one of the highest peak in the Himalayas following heavy snowfall Friday. The missing teachers, two women in their 30s and 50s and two men in their 50s, were visiting Nepal for volunteer work.
They were part of an 11-member team. The South Chungcheong Province Office of Education said 11 teachers from 10 schools left Korea, Monday, to take part in a program scheduled to run until Jan. 25.
Five other Koreans from a different group were safe and have been transferred to a safe place, and two had remained at their accommodation for health reasons. Three Nepalese guides are also missing, according to Nepal's Department of Tourism.
President Moon Jae-in wrote on Facebook, Sunday, “I am utterly worried about the missing people and their family hovering between life and death just a week before the nation's big holiday, Lunar New Year.
“We will work closely with the Nepalese government to do our best. We will also provide full support for the families of the missing teachers.”
According to the Korean Embassy to Nepal, six to 10 more experienced rescue professionals will be sent to the accident site.
Annapurna is an avalanche-prone and technically difficult mountain, with a higher death rate than Everest, the world's highest peak. Thousands of trekkers visit the region every year for views of the Himalayas.