Video Released of Suspected Missing South Koreans' Site Buried in Mud

[Anchor]

Continuing our coverage of the major floods in Nepal, the South Korean government's rapid response team dispatched to the local area has released footage captured during their first helicopter search. The video vividly depicts the aftermath of a violent debris flow that swept through the area where South Koreans are believed to have gone missing. No traces of the missing persons have been found yet.

First, reporter Kim Deok-hyeon has the details.

[Reporter]

This footage was captured yesterday (the 29th) by a helicopter deployed by the South Korean government's rapid response team, filming a gorge in the Rasuwa region of Nepal.

Moving up along the rapid current beside gray silt, a building with a blue roof, a red bus, objects presumed to be construction vehicles buried under mounds of earth, and broken debris are visible atop a sheer, rugged cliff.

Nearby, the broken roof of a blue building buried beneath mounds of mud was also captured.

The response team is focusing its search on this area, keeping in mind the possibility that some of the missing individuals may be isolated on high ground near the office building here.

Efforts are also picking up speed to rescue survivors trapped inside a tunnel at a hydroelectric power plant construction site.

Nepalese authorities stated that they have secured an access route to the upper section of the tunnel, where an estimated 100 or more workers are believed to be trapped.

A Nepalese government official explained, "We have begun injecting air through a 6-inch hole," adding, "It has been confirmed that there is no debris inside the tunnel, but communication with the personnel inside has not yet been established."

Nepal plans to widen this hole to install a manhole, conduct excavator operations simultaneously, and deploy rescue teams into the main power plant tunnel by tomorrow.

[Swarnim Wagle / Nepalese Minister of Finance: We believe people are trapped inside, and we are carrying out desperate work to find an access route into the tunnel.]

Experts from India and China, who have experience with high-difficulty tunnel rescues in the Himalayan region, have also joined the site.

An official from our government explained that this tunnel is not where the South Koreans worked, nor is it within walking distance, so it is unlikely that the missing South Koreans are inside the tunnel.

(Video editing: Kim Jong-tae, Design: Lee Jong-jeong)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.