"Just One Hour a Day" Frustrated Bereaved Families... The Reason Holding Back '8 Million Won' Helicopters

It has been reported that a domestic company deployed search helicopters costing at least 8 million won per hour to search for an employee missing in the massive floods in Nepal, but the helicopters are failing to be properly utilized.

Doosan Enerbility rented two helicopters on the 27th of last month, local time, for the search of the missing person.

However, due to delays in obtaining permission from the Nepali authorities, only one helicopter could finally be launched on the 31st, four days later, and for the following three days, only one helicopter could be deployed for the search each day.

The reasons for the Nepalese government's reluctance to grant permission include the risk of secondary collapses and the local conditions where the weather frequently deteriorates.

A lack of infrastructure, such as facilities for refueling helicopters, is also cited as a reason.

Consequently, even when helicopter searches are conducted, the time is limited to about one hour, and for a landed helicopter to take off again, permission from the Nepalese authorities must be obtained all over again.

Even on the 27th of last month, immediately after the accident, flight permits were canceled or denied citing "safety and air traffic congestion."

It is known that chartering a single helicopter costs at least 8 million won per hour.

According to the industry, in Nepal, a single round-trip emergency evacuation between the accident site in Rasuwa and the capital of Kathmandu costs about 3,000 to 7,000 dollars, which is approximately 4 million to 9.5 million won in Korean currency.

Doosan Enerbility conducted its final aerial search two days ago, but there has been no significant progress so far.

Previously, six Doosan Enerbility employees lost contact following a massive flood that occurred in the northern Rasuwa region of Nepal on the 26th.

The government's joint rapid response team held a meeting with high-ranking officials of the Nepalese police yesterday, where the response team reportedly requested cooperation so that the South Korean government's overseas emergency relief team can begin operations immediately upon arrival.

(Reported by Kim Jiuk | Video by Lee Eui-sun | Design by Yang Hye-min | Produced by SBS Digital News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.