Search for 9 Missing South Koreans Faces Hurdles; Nepali Authorities Refuse Permission for On-Foot Search

[Anchor]

More than 10 days have passed with no news regarding the nine South Korean nationals missing due to the massive floods in Nepal. The government relief team dispatched to the site proposed conducting an on-foot search in areas where the missing persons are presumed to be, but local authorities stated they would not permit it, citing safety risks.

Here is a report from reporter Je Hui-won.

[Reporter]

The government emergency relief team deployed helicopters twice, at 8:30 a.m. and 9:00 a.m. yesterday (the 4th), to intensively search the main camp area in the Ramche region, which has a high possibility of having been used as an evacuation route by 8 of the 9 missing South Koreans.

In the Dunche area near the weir dam, where one missing South Korean is presumed to be, two relief team members remained to search on foot while descending.

[Lee Gyu-ho / Head of the South Korean Emergency Relief Team: We landed closest to the weir dam, the accident site, checked two tunnels there, and launched a drone afterwards. We landed in the powerhouse area and took photos there again....]

In response, the commander of the Bhattar military base reportedly remarked that the Ramche area has already been thoroughly searched five to six times by the Nepalese military, asking, "Do you not trust the Nepalese military?"

However, the South Korean relief team stated they persuaded authorities that additional searches are necessary since the whereabouts of the nine missing South Koreans remain unconfirmed.

Having found no meaningful clues even in searches mobilizing helicopters and drones, the relief team proposed directly entering the Ramche region, where the missing persons are presumed to be, to conduct an on-foot search, but the Nepalese military authorities denied permission citing safety concerns.

In fact, the area from the upper weir dam, where one missing South Korean worked, to the powerhouse containing the generator turbines is known to be a steep mountainous region close to 90 degrees.

Due to the rugged terrain, detailed searches where rescue workers walk directly into the site to check are difficult, and unpredictable weather is also acting as an obstacle to both aerial and ground searches, leaving the families of the missing in agonizing suspense.

Currently, approximately 900 workers are missing from just 12 hydroelectric facilities within Nepal, and about 500 of them are presumed trapped inside tunnels.

Meanwhile, two Nepali men were dramatically rescued from a hydroelectric plant tunnel whose entrance had been blocked after being swept away by rapid currents, raising expectations for the survival possibilities of the missing persons.

(Video footage by Seol Chi-hwan and Kang Si-woo | Video editing by Lee Sang-min)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.