Emergency Relief Team Joins Search for Missing South Koreans in Nepal Using Mobile Tracking and Advanced Gear

[Anchor]

Our emergency relief team, which arrived in Nepal yesterday (September 2), begins full-scale search operations today. They plan to deploy thermal and acoustic detectors, as well as rescue dogs, to locate the nine missing South Koreans.

We have more in our first report from reporter Lee Hyun-jung.

[Reporter]

The emergency relief team arrived in Nepal via the Republic of Korea Air Force transport aircraft Cygnus.

They shared the situation and held a search operation meeting through a joint session with the rapid response team that arrived earlier as an advance party.

They set up their base camp in Battar, which facilitates access to the search areas due to the presence of a Nepali military helipad.

[Kim Min-jong / KOICA Team Leader, Overseas Emergency Relief Team: We will provide humanitarian assistance to the suffering Nepalese victims and do our utmost to safely bring our citizens back home as soon as possible.]

Starting today, the relief team will actively engage in searching for missing persons, including the nine South Koreans, and supporting flood damage recovery. They will fully deploy advanced equipment, including five rescue dogs, high-resolution drones, and DNA kits for identification.

[Lee Kyu-ho / Head of the Overseas Emergency Relief Team: We have brought nearly 1,000 pieces of equipment, including rescue and search gear. When searching tunnels, we need to use endoscopes to check the inside, and thermal imagers are for checking whether there are people present or not...]

Ten members out of the 44-person relief team have joined the Ramche and Dunche areas, where six members of the rapid response team were already conducting land searches.

The advance party has reportedly secured a route allowing access by land to a point just 50 meters away from the valley.

Once they reach the valley section, they are expected to carry out more extended searches using advanced equipment such as acoustic detectors. In particular, they are conducting searches after obtaining highly significant information around the weir dam.

To determine the locations of the nine missing South Koreans, the government is attempting to utilize mobile phone information in consultation with Nepalese authorities.

Due to this disaster, the death toll compiled so far stands at at least 1,130, with 4,462 people reported missing.

(Camera, Video Reporting: Seol Chi-hwan, Kang Si-woo, Joo Yong-jin, Kim Han-gyeol | Video Editing: Jung Sung-hoon)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.