S. Korea Continues Search for Missing Nationals After Nepal Floods

SEOUL, Sept. 4 (Yonhap) -- Despite bad weather and rugged terrain, South Korea continued a multipronged search Friday for nine nationals and others still missing after last week's devastating floods in Nepal, the foreign ministry said.

The nine Koreans, along with local employees, were working at the Upper Trishuli-1 (UT-1) hydropower plant construction site in Nepal's Rasuwa District when massive floods and landslides struck the area near the Nepal-Tibet border on Aug. 26.

The Korea Disaster Relief Team (KDRT) plans to resume helicopter and ground searches early Friday, according to the ministry.

"Yesterday, the KDRT and corporate response teams conducted ground searches near Ramche and used drones and other advanced equipment for aerial searches, but found no meaningful signs," a ministry official said.

KDRT chief Lee Kyoo-ho met with the commander of the Nepalese military unit in charge of the area to discuss the search operation.

"While the two sides agreed to first use helicopters to assess the situation and determine search priorities, one of the two helicopters mobilized returned early due to worsening weather conditions while the other was unable to take off," he added.

The KDRT is considering prioritizing areas that South Korean companies believe the missing workers may have reached, including an area near a bridge known locally as Yellow Bridge and a mountainous area behind the workers' main camp.

The nine missing South Koreans comprise six employees of Doosan Enerbility Co. and three employees of Korea South-East Power Co.

"The Yellow Bridge area has yet to be thoroughly searched and will receive closer attention. Tunnel searches are also among the options under consideration," the official said.

"Some KDRT members plan to conduct a ground search near Dhunche, though our search plans could be adjusted through consultations with Nepalese authorities," he added.

Dhunche is about 2 kilometers from the weir, the upper dam of the UT-1 hydropower plant. Ramche is also about 2 km from the campsite where at least some of the missing persons are presumed to have stayed at the time of the accident.

A body found earlier near the UT-1 plant was identified as a non-Korean national, while another body found inside a tunnel at the plant construction site has yet to be identified, another official said.

The KDRT, which arrived in Nepal on Wednesday, is equipped with five rescue dogs, high-resolution drones, buried-victim detection devices and thermal imaging equipment. A government emergency response team that had been dispatched to the scene earlier has also joined the KDRT for joint operations.

The death toll and number of missing people continued to rise, with more than 1,200 people killed and nearly 6,000 still missing as of Wednesday, according to foreign media reports.