Where Are the 9 Missing? S. Korea-Nepal Joint Search Begins in Earnest

[Anchor]

Moving on to the severe flooding in Nepal. The South Korean government's emergency relief team dispatched to Nepal launched full-scale search operations today (September 3) to find the nine missing South Korean nationals. Let's connect with our reporter live in Nepal for more details.

Reporter Kwon Min-kyu, how is the emergency relief team sent by our government operating?

[Reporter]

I am currently stationed near the flood-affected area at the Nepali Army's Trishuli Battalion in Battar.

The helicopters you see behind me are being deployed for the search of missing persons and relief efforts.

About an hour ago, we also witnessed the South Korean government's emergency relief team boarding a Nepali military helicopter to conduct an aerial search.

The search for the missing South Koreans is taking place in the Dunche and Ramche areas, up to 30 kilometers in a straight line from the Battar basecamp here.

Authorities are searching for one person near the weir dam close to Dunche and eight people at the camp where the office building and other facilities are located in the Ramche area. The South Korean government's emergency relief team set up their basecamp here in Battar yesterday afternoon and held an operational meeting with the commander of the Nepali military unit today.

[Lee Kyu-ho / Head of the Government Emergency Relief Team: Although the meeting with the (Nepali) military authorities was scheduled rather late, it is a great relief that it took place. We plan to explore ways to focus on the areas where our nationals are located, while also working out measures to rescue Nepali citizens and victims together.]

The plan is to expand the scope of ground and aerial searches and accelerate the search pace through cooperation with the Nepali military.

[Anchor]

Time is running out. How far has the search operation progressed so far?

[Reporter]

It is currently still 5:00 PM local time, and the results of today's search have not yet been released.

Yesterday, six firefighters from the advance rapid response team, jointly with two Nepali soldiers, took a helicopter to the Dunche area and entered the Ramche area—where the missing South Koreans are presumed to be—to conduct a ground search.

The relief team stated that they approached within about 50 meters of the main camp, including the office building where contact with our eight nationals was lost, but reported that no particular findings have been made yet.

(Camera Reporter: Seol Chi-hwan, Kang Si-woo | Video Editor: Kim Byeong-jik | Design: Seo Seung-hyun)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.