South Korea Begins Helicopter Search in Nepal... 9 Additional Rapid Response Team Members Dispatched

A helicopter operated by the South Korean government has begun search operations at the site of the massive floods in Nepal.

According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs today, a helicopter carrying four personnel from the National Fire Agency belonging to the government's joint rapid response team departed toward the accident site at around 11:45 a.m. local time today.

Because the accident site is inaccessible by land, helicopters must be used. However, Nepalese authorities had previously restricted foreign-operated helicopters from flying due to concerns over secondary floods.

Although the government's response team secured six helicopters in Kathmandu along with Doosan Enerbility and Korea South-East Power, only one helicopter from Korea South-East Power was able to conduct search operations the previous day due to restrictions by Nepalese authorities.

With local weather conditions having improved to some extent, it is reported that in addition to the government-chartered helicopter that took off today, one helicopter from Doosan Enerbility has also received takeoff approval.

Lim Sang-woo, the Foreign Ministry's government representative for overseas Koreans' protection and consular affairs who leads the rapid response team, reportedly contacted key local figures including officials from the Nepalese Ministry of Foreign Affairs the previous day to request cooperation on necessary matters for the search and rescue of South Korean nationals, such as helicopter operations.

The Embassy of South Korea in Nepal has continuously provided Nepalese authorities with location information, such as coordinates of the areas where South Koreans were affected, to request prompt search and rescue.

The government has sent an additional joint rapid response team to the location.

The additional personnel, consisting of one official from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and eight from the National Fire Agency, departed from Incheon International Airport at 2 p.m. today.

Previously, the government dispatched an 11-member rapid response team to Nepal on the 27th, including Representative Lim Sang-woo.

The nine additional personnel being dispatched plan to join the existing response team in searching for and rescuing missing persons.

The government is fully prepared to deploy an overseas emergency relief team via transport aircraft.

The government has actively conveyed its intent to support Nepal with an emergency relief team and is making preparations so that deployment can take place at any time should Nepal accept.

However, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that considering the unique characteristics of the region and the efficiency of command and control, Nepalese authorities are currently conducting rescue operations centered around their own military and police, and will make a separate request if additional support is needed.

Meanwhile, Minister of Foreign Affairs Cho Hyun met with the families of missing persons currently in South Korea today.

According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, among the nine missing persons, the families of four are currently in Nepal, while the families of five are in South Korea.

As of the 28th local time, following massive floods in the Himalayan mountainous region along the Nepal-China border, the total death toll identified in both countries has risen to 584, with the number of missing persons nearing 2,500.

Currently, nine South Koreans remain out of contact, while another ten South Koreans who had been isolated have moved to safe locations.

These South Koreans belong to Korea South-East Power and Doosan Enerbility, which were constructing local hydroelectric power plants.

While some speculations arose that an official from the South Korean Embassy in Nepal was dispatched to the site to assess the feasibility of search operations in downstream areas of the river, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs explained that this is not true and that search and rescue operations are being pursued focusing on the areas where evacuations are presumed to have taken place.

(Photo: Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.