[Anchor]
It has been 14 days since the massive flood in Nepal, and our emergency relief team has conducted foot searches focusing on locations where the missing South Korean nationals may have evacuated. Let's connect with our correspondent on the ground for more details.
Correspondent Choi Go-un, a briefing on the search results was held just a moment ago. Could you share the details first?
[Reporter]
Yes, today (the 8th), our emergency relief team split into two helicopters starting from the morning to travel to the search area.
The locations where foot searches were attempted are around the powerhouse and the Yellow Bridge.
Due to the extremely rugged terrain, including sheer cliffs that had to be traversed, the Nepalese military had previously not permitted any searches other than using drones.
One of our relief team's helicopters landed at the powerhouse, but the Nepalese military authorities did not allow a foot search, prompting nearly two hours of drone searches. The other helicopter landed at a camp where Nepalese military relief supplies were being unloaded and conducted a foot search, but no missing persons were found.
[Lee Gyu-ho / Head of Relief Team: We went up to the point where the road was washed out and looked along the opposite slope. No unusual findings were spotted (visually).]
[Anchor]
As for the tunnel around the weir dam, did the Nepalese military decide to suspend the search?
[Reporter]
The emergency relief team released footage showing the search inside the tunnel near the weir dam, highlighting a fierce struggle.
["Should we go deeper into the search or not? Shall we push it with our foot?"]
High water levels made access difficult, and even when entering by boat, massive boulders blocked the way, making it hard to squeeze through narrow gaps.
It was reported that some team members showed symptoms such as drinking contaminated water filling the tunnel, extreme physical exhaustion, and diarrhea.
The Nepalese military stated that the risks were too high and the likelihood of survivors was slim, thus concluding the search of the tunnel in the weir dam area.
While watching Nepalese military helicopters take off and land at the scene for a long time today, the number of operating helicopters had noticeably decreased.
Word also came that the Nepalese authorities are now shifting their focus toward reconstruction and recovery. Our relief team is scheduled to continue operations until the 11th, which is three days from now, but neither an extension nor the dispatch of a follow-up team has been decided yet.
The relief team stated that they will focus on search and rescue until the very end while ensuring the safety of their members.
(Video filming: Cho Chang-hyun, Yang Ji-hoon | Video editing: Kim Byeong-jik | Design: Kim Ye-ji)
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