KATHMANDU, Sept 3: The search has been intensified for nine South Korean nationals who went missing following the Bhotekoshi floods in Rasuwa.
A 44-member Korea Disaster Relief Team (KDRT), which arrived in Nepal on Wednesday for search and rescue operations, is conducting the search in the affected areas of Rasuwa in coordination with Nepali authorities.
The emergency response team that had previously arrived in Nepal has now also been incorporated into the KDRT. The two teams are working as a single unit in coordination with the Nepali Army for search and rescue operations.
The KDRT has established a base camp at Batar in Nuwakot. KDRT chief Lee Kyu-ho is scheduled to meet Nepali Army officials at Batar to discuss the search areas and operational procedures.
Nine South Korean nationals working at the construction site of the Upper Trishuli-1 Hydropower Project went missing after the Bhotekoshi flood last Wednesday morning. Six of them are employees of Doosan Enerbility, while three work for Korea South-East Power.
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Ground and aerial searches were conducted in the Ramche and Dhunche areas of Rasuwa on Wednesday using drones, search dogs and other advanced equipment. However, no significant clues about the missing individuals have been found so far.
The team will continue searching the Ramche and Dhunche areas today in coordination with the Nepali Army, using helicopters, drones and ground teams. Dhunche is located about two kilometers from the upper dam of the Upper Trishuli-1 Hydropower Project.
Earlier, six members of the South Korean emergency response team conducted a ground search in Dhunche and Ramche together with two Nepali Army personnel. They reached within about 50 meters of the main camp damaged by the flood. However, they had to turn back after the deep gorge and steep terrain made it difficult to proceed further, officials said.
The search is now being expanded to the main camp, the project’s upper dam and mountainous areas where the missing individuals could potentially have reached. The team is also discussing with Nepali authorities the possibility of determining the locations of the missing individuals through their mobile phones.
Information is also being collected from Nepali survivors and local officials about where the missing individuals may have gone.
The difficult terrain, mud and large quantities of soil and debris carried by the flood have posed major challenges to the search operation. The Korean team is using high-capacity drones, search dogs, equipment capable of detecting buried people through sound and video, and thermal imaging devices.
The team has five search and rescue dogs.
The companies employing the missing individuals have also formed separate search teams and are coordinating with government teams. Doosan Enerbility is conducting searches using helicopters and high-capacity drones and is preparing to conduct a detailed analysis of footage captured during aerial searches. Korea South-East Power is also using drones and search and rescue dogs.
The team will coordinate with the Nepali Army to further organize the search areas, equipment and methods. Despite the challenges posed by difficult terrain and large amounts of accumulated soil and debris, ground, aerial and technology-based searches will be conducted simultaneously to find clues about the possible whereabouts of the nine missing individuals.
Alongside the search operation, South Korea has also increased its humanitarian assistance to Nepal. At the request of the Nepali government, it has sent equipment required for DNA testing. It has also announced plans to send around 38,000 blankets to Nepal as relief supplies.
Earlier, South Korea had announced humanitarian assistance worth $1 million to Nepal through international organizations. South Korea’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the KDRT had been deployed not only to search for its missing nationals but also to provide humanitarian assistance to Nepali flood victims.
The Bhotekoshi floods have caused extensive loss of life in Nepal. According to the latest update, 1,252 bodies have been recovered from various flood-affected areas. As search and rescue operations continue, the number of deaths and missing people could rise further.
