"Go Further In?" Tunnel is Precarious… Overland Search Conducted on Possibility of Evacuation

[Anchor]

It has been 14 days since the massive flood in Nepal, and our emergency relief team has conducted a foot search focusing on areas where our missing nationals may have evacuated. Let's connect live to the field to find out more.

Correspondent Choi Go-un, a briefing on the search results was held just a moment ago. Could you give us the details first?

[Reporter]

Yes, today (the 8th), our emergency relief team split into two helicopters starting this morning and moved to the search area.

The areas where they attempted foot searches are around the powerhouse and the Yellow Bridge.

Due to the extremely rugged terrain, requiring travel along sheer cliffs, the Nepali military had previously not permitted searches other than using drones.

One of our relief team's helicopters landed at the powerhouse, but the Nepali military authorities did not permit a foot search, so they conducted a drone search for nearly two hours. The other helicopter landed at a camp where Nepali military relief supplies were being unloaded and conducted a foot search, but failed to find any missing persons.

[Lee Kyu-ho / Head of the Relief Team: We went up to the point where the road was washed out and looked all along the opposite slope. No unusual signs were found visually.]

[Anchor]

In the case of the tunnel around the weir dam, has the Nepali military decided to suspend the search?

[Reporter]

The emergency relief team released footage showing the search inside the tunnel near the weir dam, and it was a fierce struggle.

[Should we go further into the tunnel or not? Should we push it with our feet?]

The high water level made access difficult, and even when entering by boat, they were blocked by massive boulders, making it hard to squeeze their bodies through the narrow gaps.

It is reported that some team members drank the polluted water filling the tunnel, experienced extreme physical exhaustion, or showed symptoms of diarrhea.

The Nepali military announced that it is ending the search in the tunnel area near the weir dam, judging that the risk is too high and the possibility of survivors is slim.

Watching for quite a while at the site where Nepali military helicopters take off and land today, the number of operating helicopters has noticeably decreased.

Word has also reached us that the Nepali authorities are now shifting toward reconstruction and recovery. Our relief team's activities are scheduled until the 11th, three days from now, but an extension or the dispatch of a follow-up team has not yet been decided.

The relief team stated that they will focus on search and rescue until the very end while ensuring the safety of their members.

(Camera Reporter: Cho Chang-hyun, Yang Ji-hoon | Video Editor: Kim Byung-jik | Design: Kim Ye-ji)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.