South Korean Government Launches Ground Search for 9 Missing Koreans in Nepal Floods

(2nd LD) Helicopter search resumes for 9 missing Koreans in Nepal floods  Yonhap News Agency

(LEAD) Gov't team begins ground search for 9 missing Koreans in Nepal floods  Yonhap News Agency

A land-based search team, composed of 9 members of a government joint rapid response team, has departed from the Korean embassy in Kathmandu, Nepal, to search for the 9 Koreans who went missing in the flood incident. The search team gathered at the embassy around 7:20 a.m. local time on the 31st and traveled by vehicle for about 5 hours to Lamche, a region near the hydropower plant, where they are expected to begin land-based search operations. Lamche is located adjacent to a construction site. The search team is expected to reach the vicinity of the search target area within the day. Jo Hyun-moon, the head of the Central 119 Rescue Division at the Fire Service Agency, said, 'I will go to the site to collect search information for the Lamche area today,' and added, 'I will do my best to ensure safe and rapid search and rescue operations.' [Kathmandu=Newsis]

In the situation where contact with 9 Korean citizens has been cut off due to floods in Nepal, the joint rapid response team of the government launched a multi-pronged search and rescue plan on the 31st, utilizing helicopters, ground search, and drones. According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the rapid response team plans to carry out search operations in the areas around Weir Dam and Dunche using helicopters on the same day. If the helicopter takeoff and flight permit situation is not smooth, the team is also prepared to have personnel from Dusun Energy Reliability accompany the helicopter if necessary. On the 29th, the rapid response team started a search operation with one helicopter, making two flights, but on the 30th, the Nepalese authorities denied helicopter flights due to safety and air traffic congestion reasons. Although helicopter-based wide-area search is efficient, obtaining flight permits requires not only the approval of the authorities but also variables such as rugged terrain and deteriorating weather conditions. Therefore, the government has started to actively secure ground routes for the rapid search of Koreans. In this regard, the ground search team composed of 9 members from the Fire Service of the rapid response team is attempting to move to the Lameche area, which is about 1 to 2 kilometers away from the accident site, and is planned to stay overnight at the location.

The South Korean government rapid response team on Monday launched a ground operation to search for nine Koreans missing following Nepal's devastating floods, as restrictions continued to hamper helicopter and drone searches. "The ground search team will attempt to reach the Ramche area, about 1 to 2 kilometers from the disaster site, and plans to camp there overnight," a Foreign Ministry official, requesting anonymity, told reporters Monday. The move marks an expansion of South Korea's search e