Two helicopters operated by the South Korean government began full-scale search operations at the disaster site on the 29th, as nine South Koreans remain unaccounted for after massive flooding in Nepal. Nepalese authorities had restricted foreign helicopters from approaching the area, citing concerns over a second wave of flooding, but the search area is expected to widen as weather conditions improve somewhat. The government is stepping up search and rescue efforts, including dispatching nine additional personnel from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the National Fire Agency to the site.
A helicopter carrying four National Fire Agency personnel from the government's joint rapid response team departed for the disaster site at about 11:45 a.m. local time, according to the foreign ministry and other sources on the 29th. A second helicopter carrying four officials from the fire agency, the National Police Agency and the foreign ministry took off at 12:38 p.m.
The site is virtually inaccessible by road, making helicopter searches essential. But the search has been hampered by Nepalese restrictions on helicopter flights by foreigners, imposed over the risk of further flooding. The government response team secured six helicopters in Kathmandu together with Doosan Enerbility and Korea South-East Power, but only one helicopter provided by Korea South-East Power could be deployed the previous day.
Helicopter deployments are expanding as local weather conditions improve. In addition to the two helicopters chartered by the government, one helicopter from Doosan Enerbility has received takeoff clearance from Nepalese authorities, sources said.
Lim Sang-woo, the foreign ministry's government representative for overseas Korean nationals protection and consular affairs who leads the rapid response team, met with Nepalese foreign ministry officials and other key local figures the previous day to request cooperation on the search and rescue of South Koreans, including helicopter operations. The South Korean Embassy in Nepal has also provided Nepalese authorities with location data, including coordinates of areas where South Koreans were affected, and requested a swift search and rescue.
Helicopter flights could be restricted again, however, depending on local weather and Nepalese authorities' search and rescue policies. Nepal's control of access to the site has constrained search and rescue operations by other countries as well, not just South Korea.
The government has also reinforced its search personnel on the ground. Nine additional members of the joint rapid response team — one from the foreign ministry and eight from the National Fire Agency — left Incheon International Airport at 2 p.m. that day. They were scheduled to arrive in Kathmandu at about 5 p.m. and join the existing team in searching for the missing. The government had earlier dispatched an 11-member rapid response team, including Lim, on the 27th. With the additional personnel, the team will grow to 20.
Preparations to deploy the Korea Disaster Relief Team have also been completed. The government has conveyed its offer of emergency relief support to Nepal and is prepared to send the team by transport aircraft as soon as the offer is accepted. Nepal's government, however, is conducting rescue operations centered on its own military and police, citing local conditions and the efficiency of command and control, and has said it will make a separate request if further support is needed.
Foreign Minister Cho Hyun met with families of the missing in South Korea that day. Of the nine South Koreans currently unaccounted for, the families of four are in Nepal and those of five are in South Korea, according to officials.
Massive flooding that struck the Himalayan mountain region along the Nepal-China border left 584 confirmed dead in the two countries as of the 28th local time, with the number of missing approaching 2,500. The nine South Koreans remain unaccounted for. Ten other South Koreans who had been stranded have moved to safety. They work for Korea South-East Power and Doosan Enerbility, which were building a hydroelectric power plant in the country.
Nepalese authorities are conducting rescue operations on the assumption that more than 100 people may be trapped inside a flooded tunnel at the Upper Trishuli-1 (UT-1) hydroelectric power plant. Because the nine South Koreans who are out of contact had worked at the plant, there is a possibility that South Koreans are inside the tunnel. The foreign ministry is looking into the situation, sources said.
