[Anchor]
As dramatic rescue reports continue, our emergency relief team is also accelerating search operations for the missing South Koreans. However, because the area features nearly 90-degree cliffs, rescue efforts are focusing on helicopters and drones rather than on-foot searches.
Reporter Kwon Min-kyu filed this report from Nepal.
[Reporter]
Korean team members gather in front of a helicopter that has finished preparation for takeoff to hold a joint operation meeting.
The relief team spent about three hours yesterday (September 4) searching around the weir dam area in Dunche, where one missing South Korean is presumed to be, as well as the main camp and power house area in Ramche, where eight are believed to be located. They announced that they deployed helicopters multiple times to the same areas both this morning and afternoon, additionally utilizing search equipment brought from South Korea, including high-resolution drones.
[Lee Kyu-ho / Head of the Korea Disaster Relief Team: We plan to begin search and rescue operations for the two agreed-upon areas, divided into morning and afternoon sessions. However, the difference from yesterday is that we are bringing in and specifically utilizing better equipment that our relief team has brought.]
Meanwhile, the relief team explained that Nepali authorities did not permit foot searches in the mountainous terrain of Ramche, citing dangers due to the rugged landscape and intermittent rain.
The 6-kilometer section from the weir dam to the power house, where the missing persons are believed to be, consists mostly of sheer cliff terrain with slopes close to 90 degrees, posing a high risk of safety accidents if rescuers enter on foot.
[Lee Kyu-ho / Head of the Korea Disaster Relief Team: The Nepalese military authorities are still responding very sensitively to the dangers of the mountainous region, as well as the risks of weakened ground due to the current monsoon season.]
Minister of Foreign Affairs Cho Hyun, who departed for Nepal this afternoon to encourage the relief team, is scheduled to hold talks with the Nepalese foreign minister locally and meet with the families of the missing persons.
With missing persons being dramatically rescued from hydroelectric power plant tunnels for two consecutive days, our relief team is also putting all-out efforts into achieving results in the search for the missing South Koreans.
(Video reporting: Seol Chi-hwan, Kang Si-woo | Video editing: Kim Byung-jik | Design: Lim Chan-hyuk | Footage provided by: Ministry of Foreign Affairs)
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