Additional search scheduled for Chinese survivors among 9 Koreans missing in Nepal floods

(Kathmandu = Yonhap News) Correspondent Hyeon-gyu Son = A Chinese survivor who was trapped in the area where 9 Koreans went missing due to massive flooding that hit Nepal and was rescued 10 days later stated that there was one more person nearby.

The Korea Overseas Emergency Relief Service (KDRT) announced on the 5th (local time) that it had secured a statement from a survivor rescued from a tunnel at the construction site of the Upper Trishuli (UT)-1 hydroelectric power plant in the Rasuwa region, Bagmati Province, north-central Nepal, that there was one more person nearby.

This survivor, a Chinese man, was rescued by a joint rescue team consisting of the Nepal Army and KDRT at 225m inside the UT-1 hydroelectric power plant tunnel at around 1:15 pm on this day.

The Chinese man told KDRT that there was one more person near where he was, but that his fate was unknown.

Based on this Chinese man's statement, KDRT plans to conduct additional search and rescue operations in the UT-1 hydroelectric power plant tunnel on the morning of the 6th in consultation with the Nepalese military.

The Chinese rescue video released by KDRT on this day showed Korean rescuers crawling over a muddy field inside a tunnel filled with mud.

In another video, rescuers waded through waist-deep river water and searched inside a dark tunnel.

Earlier, KDRT entered the UT-1 hydroelectric power plant tunnel this morning and first discovered a body at 10:32 a.m.

Three more rescuers were added to the existing seven, and they re-entered the tunnel this afternoon to rescue a Chinese survivor and retrieve the body found in the morning.

In the process of recovering these bodies, two additional bodies were discovered, but the rescuers' stamina was low so they returned to base camp.

A KDRT official said, "After confirming the location of the body, the crew returned," and added, "We plan to continue searching the tunnel (near the Weir Dam of the UT-1 hydroelectric power plant), the powerhouse (where the power plant turbine is located), and the area near the Yellow Bridge tomorrow."

As of last month, 1,375 people have died and 5,531 people are 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 Koreans who were constructing the UT-1 hydroelectric power plant. There are six Doosan Energy employees and three Korea South-East Power employees.