[Anchor]
President Lee Jae-myung has ordered that all available means be mobilized to make every effort in the search and rescue of the missing persons. The government is dispatching a rapid response team to the site today (the 27th).
Reporter Kim Ayeong has the details.
[Reporter]
Starting at 10:30 PM last night, a meeting of the Overseas Koreans Protection Headquarters was held at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs complex in Seoul, presided over by Foreign Minister Cho Hyun and attended by officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Korean National Police Agency.
Minister Cho stated that immediately after learning that South Korean nationals had lost contact locally due to floods in Nepal, he requested immediate rescue operations from the Nepalese authorities.
[Cho Hyun / Foreign Minister: The (South Korean) Embassy in Nepal has requested rescue operations immediately upon learning of this accident, and the Nepalese government has stated that it has mobilized the army and police for rescue operations.]
Minister Cho conveyed that President Lee Jae-myung instructed them to cooperate closely with the Nepalese government and local authorities to support the families of the citizens who have lost contact and to take every possible measure to ensure the safety of our nationals on site.
The number of missing South Korean nationals has increased from the 8 originally announced by the government to 9.
The government has ascertained that another 10 South Korean nationals affiliated with Doosan Enerbility, along with some 200 foreign employees including Nepalese, have evacuated locally and are awaiting rescue.
A consul from the South Korean Embassy in Nepal was urgently dispatched to the accident site, and explained that it has been confirmed that these 10 individuals are currently safe.
The government's rapid response team, led by Lim Sang-woo, Representative for Overseas Koreans Protection, will be dispatched to the site today.
Departing from Incheon this afternoon and transiting through Hong Kong, they are scheduled to arrive in Kathmandu, the capital of Nepal, this evening local time.
Minister Cho plans to hold a telephone conversation with the Foreign Minister of Nepal today to request swift search and rescue operations by the Nepalese government for our citizens.
(Video by Park Hyun-chul)
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