On September 7, local time, marking the 13th day since a massive flood struck the Himalayan mountainous region along the border between Nepal and China, Nepal observed a national day of mourning designated by the government to remember the victims.

On this morning, flags flew at half-staff at all government offices, including the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority in Kathmandu, as well as foreign diplomatic missions.

However, large-scale memorial events were not held, and Nepalese citizens went about their daily lives quietly while mourning.

Earlier, the cabinet of Prime Minister Balendra Shah (36, also known as Balen) designated this day, the 13th day since the massive flood, as a national day of mourning.

In Nepal, where many citizens are Hindu, traditional funeral rites involve a 13-day period of mourning, culminating on the final day with rituals praying for the deceased's peaceful repose in the afterlife.

Some families of the missing have already held funerals without bodies, in accordance with Hindu traditions that view cremation as an essential final ritual.

On this day, students and faculty members at some schools in Nepal also gathered on school grounds to pay tribute to the victims of the massive floods.

The Korea Disaster Relief Team (KDRT), dispatched to Nepal since September 2, conducted search operations once again in the mountainous region near the Upper Trishuli-1 hydroelectric power plant, where nine South Koreans remain missing.

The KDRT intensively searched areas such as the tunnels and powerhouse near the weir dam, where the missing South Koreans are presumed to be, but did not find anything notable.

However, an official from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated, "Considering local terrain conditions, it is difficult to conduct searches on foot in areas deemed dangerous," adding, "We are also discussing location tracking utilizing mobile phone data with Nepalese authorities."

Previously, the KDRT proposed conducting a search on foot in Ramche, located in the Rasuwa district of Bagmati Province, about 2 kilometers away from the camp where the missing South Koreans stayed, but the Nepalese military stated that it was dangerous and could not be permitted.

The KDRT reportedly plans to wrap up its search operations on September 11, when its ten-day deployment period concludes.

Regarding a potential second deployment of the disaster relief team, a Ministry of Foreign Affairs official said, "We are not reviewing it at the moment," while adding, "We will likely review it depending on the situation on the ground."

According to Nepal's National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority, massive floods that swept through northern Bagmati Province and surrounding areas on August 26 have resulted in 1,355 deaths recorded to date.

Including the 43 people killed in a debris flow linked to this flood in China's Tibet Autonomous Region near the border on the same day, the total death toll stands at 1,398.

The number of missing persons totals 5,515, combining 4,996 in Nepal and 519 in Tibet.

Among the missing are nine South Korean employees who were constructing the UT-1 hydroelectric power plant.

They consist of six employees from Doosan Enerbility and three from Korea South-East Power.

(Photo: Yonhap News)