Helicopter search resumes for 9 missing Koreans in Nepal floods
Summary
Doosan Enerbility said one of its helicopters joined the search for nine missing Koreans in Nepal after receiving local clearance for the first time. A government joint rapid response team also began a ground search Monday near the Rasuwa site where the nine had been working. Foreign Minister Cho Hyun asked his Nepalese counterpart for close cooperation, including military help, to speed up rescue efforts.
Key Facts
- The nine missing Koreans are six Doosan Enerbility employees and three Korea South-East Power Co. employees.
- The helicopter departed at around 11 a.m. local time and was one of two helicopters secured by Doosan, out of six secured by Korea.
- The ground search team planned to travel to Ramche, about 1 to 2 kilometers from the site, and camp there overnight.
- The ministry said the team also planned to conduct a drone search if local authorities approved it.
Korean rescue officials get on a helicopter at Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu, Nepal, Saturday, to conduct search operations. Courtesy of Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Doosan Enerbility Co. said Monday that one of its helicopters joined the search effort for nine Koreans missing in massive floods in Nepal after receiving clearance from local authorities for the first time.
The helicopter was one of two the company has secured to aid the search, out of a total six secured by Korea. It departed at around 11 a.m. (local time) to head to the site where the nine — six Doosan employees and three Korea South-East Power Co. employees — had been working at a hydroelectric power plant construction site in the Rasuwa district when massive floods and landslides struck the region last Wednesday.
While the helicopter flew over the site, search personnel onboard looked for signs of the missing and filmed video for future analysis, the company.
The last time a Korean helicopter was cleared to operate was on Saturday, when a government-leased helicopter took off twice in one day.
Earlier Monday, a government joint rapid response team began a ground search for the missing, Seoul's foreign ministry said. The team planned to make its way to Ramche, about 1-2 kilometers from the site where they went missing, and camp there overnight.
The team includes officials from the ministry, police and fire authorities, and was dispatched to Nepal last week to support rescue efforts.
The ground search began after the team failed to secure helicopter clearance due to bad weather and a decision by Nepalese authorities to bar foreign helicopters from operating.
"As we did not receive helicopter clearance Sunday, some team members left by road and moved as close as possible to the accident site," a ministry official said. "After taking the overall situation at the site into consideration, we determined that a ground search would be possible."
The team also plans to conduct a drone search in the area, subject to approval from local authorities, he added.
Nepali soldiers and other workers use heavy equipment to clear a road leading to a hydropower plant under construction by Korea South Power and Doosan Enerbility, in Bidur, Nuwakot district, Nepal, Saturday, Aug. 29. Flash floods that tore down the Trishuli River on Aug. 26 cut off access to the 216-megawatt Upper Trishuli-1 project in neighboring Rasuwa district, where nine Korean workers are among the missing. Yonhap
Foreign Minister Cho Hyun spoke by phone with his Nepalese counterpart, Shisir Khanal, and asked for close cooperation for the swift rescue of the nine missing, according to Cho's office.
He especially sought the Nepalese military's help in allowing searches in the area where the missing are presumed to have lost communication.
Thanking the Nepalese government for safely rescuing 10 other Koreans who were initially trapped after the floods, Cho also said the Korean government is looking into ways to assist Nepal where help is needed.
Khanal thanked Cho for Korea's consolation and spirit of solidarity, and the two sides agreed to maintain close communication regarding rescue and recovery efforts.
The ministers had previously spoken by phone last Thursday.
On Sunday, officials contacted the chief of the Nepal Police and representatives of the Nepal Army.
The response team has been interviewing Nepali survivors to determine the movements of the missing Koreans, the ministry said.
The floods have killed more than 800 people and left around 3,000 others missing, according to foreign media reports.
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