Near-90-Degree Slopes and Sheer Cliffs... Foot Searches Prohibited

[Anchor]

As dramatic rescue reports continue, the South Korean emergency relief team is also accelerating search operations for missing South Koreans. However, because the terrain consists of near-90-degree cliffs, search efforts are focusing heavily on helicopters and drones rather than on-foot searches.

Reporter Kwon Min-kyu has the details from Nepal.

[Reporter]

South Korean relief workers gather for a joint operational briefing in front of a helicopter that has finished preparations for takeoff.

The relief team spent about three hours yesterday (the 4th) searching the area around the weir dam in the Dunche region, where one missing South Korean is presumed to be, as well as the main camp and powerhouse surroundings in the Ramche region, where eight are believed to be located. The team announced that it deployed helicopters to the same areas multiple times both this morning and afternoon, additionally utilizing search equipment brought from South Korea, including high-resolution drones.

[Lee Gyu-ho / Head of the South Korean Emergency Relief Team: We plan to begin rescue and search operations for the two regions agreed upon yesterday, dividing them into the morning and afternoon sessions. However, the difference from yesterday is that we are specifically bringing in better equipment that our relief team has brought...]=

However, the relief team explained that Nepali authorities did not permit on-foot searches in the mountainous terrain of the Ramche region, citing safety risks due to the rugged landscape and intermittent rainfall.

The 6-kilometer stretch from the weir dam to the powerhouse, where the missing persons are believed to be, mostly consists of sheer cliff terrain with slopes close to 90 degrees, posing a high risk of safety accidents if rescuers enter on foot.

[Lee Gyu-ho / Head of the South Korean Emergency Relief Team: The Nepali military authorities are still responding very sensitively to the dangers of the mountainous region, and the risks regarding weakened foundations because it is currently the monsoon season.]=

Minister of Foreign Affairs Cho Hyun, who departed for Nepal this afternoon to encourage the relief team, is scheduled to hold talks with the Nepali foreign minister locally and meet with the families of the missing persons.

With missing persons being dramatically rescued from the hydroelectric power plant tunnel for two consecutive days, our relief team is also making all-out efforts to achieve tangible results in the search for the missing South Koreans.

(Video capture: Seol Chi-hwan, Kang Si-woo | Video editing: Kim Byung-jik | Design: Im Chan-hyuk | Footage provided by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.