Nepalese military does not allow walking search of missing Koreans... Helicopter search was also fruitless.

Nepalese military "We cannot allow dangerous actions in the operational area"... Helicopter search yields no results

(Kathmandu = Yonhap News) Correspondent Son Hyeon-gyu = The Nepalese military announced that it would not allow the Korean Overseas Emergency Relief Team (KDRT) to search on foot in the area where 9 Koreans went missing during the flood, citing the danger.

A KDRT official told reporters in Kathmandu, the capital, through a video connection from the base camp in Batar, Nuwakot district, Bagmati Province, north-central Nepal, on the afternoon of the 4th (local time), "During a meeting with the military commander of the Batar region today (after the morning search), I proposed to the Nepalese military to conduct a foot search in Ramche (in the Rasuwa region, about 2km away from the camp where the missing Koreans stayed)."

However, he explained, "The military commander of the Batar region said that 'searching on foot is dangerous' and that such actions cannot be allowed in their operational area."

In fact, it is reported that the area from Weir Dam, the upper dam where one missing Korean worked, to the powerhouse where the power plant turbines are located is a steep mountainous area close to 90 degrees.

However, during the consultation process that day, KDRT also proposed an aerial search around the Yellow Bridge, including the Weir Dam area and the Power House, and the Nepal Army accepted this.

Afterwards, KDRT received support from a Nepalese military helicopter and mobilized four drones to conduct an aerial search in the area of ​​the power house, but could not find anything unusual regarding the nine missing Koreans.

Earlier this morning, KDRT used two Nepalese military helicopters to search the area where Koreans went missing for three hours.

A KDRT official said, "We plan to search tomorrow in a similar way as today," but added, "The search plan may change depending on the weather conditions tomorrow."

Previously, KDRT had attempted to search the sky with the support of two helicopters from the Nepalese military the previous day, but one had to turn back due to the weather and the other could not even take off.

On this day, two Nepalese employees were dramatically rescued nine days after a major flood occurred in the Trishuli 3A hydroelectric power plant area in Bagmati province, raising expectations that hundreds of people believed to be stranded in the tunnels of various power plants could also be rescued.

The Trishuli 3A Hydroelectric Power Plant is located approximately 6 km downstream along the Trishuli River from the Upper Trishuli (UT)-1 Hydroelectric Power Plant, where the nine missing Koreans worked.

A total of more than 1,300 people died and 5,600 went missing in Nepal and China's Tibet Autonomous Region, which share a border, due to a major flood that occurred in the upper reaches of the Himalayan mountain region on the 26th of last month.

Among the missing were nine Korean employees who were constructing the Upper Trishuli (UT)-1 hydroelectric power plant in the Rasuwa district of Bagmati Province. There are 6 employees of Doosan Energy and 3 employees of South East Power Company.