As deaths mount from massive flooding in the Himalayan mountain region, Nepal partly reversed its earlier policy of declining support from foreign search and rescue personnel.
According to the Kathmandu Post on the 29th (local time), Nepal said it would allow limited support from foreign experts in three areas only—hydropower plant tunnel structures in flood-hit regions, DNA testing, and forensic investigations.
Until the day before, Nepal said it needed financial assistance from the international community but would not immediately accept the deployment of foreign personnel for search and rescue. However, as the number of missing foreigners rose and requests came from their countries, Nepal shifted to allow participation by foreign experts in certain areas.
Minister Shishir Khanal of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said three areas needing support had been selected and that Nepal was requesting assistance from the international community accordingly.
The Kathmandu Post reported that strong diplomatic demands from countries whose nationals are missing were behind Nepal's change in policy. The countries allowed to dispatch experts and technical staff are four: Korea, India, China, and Australia.
The United States, the United Kingdom, Japan, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh also requested to take part in search and rescue operations but reportedly did not receive Nepal's approval.
On the 26th, massive flooding that swept across Bagmati Province in northern Nepal left 579 dead and 1,924 missing as of the day of reporting.
On the 27th, Minister Cho Hyun of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs spoke by phone with Minister Khanal of Nepal's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and asked the Nepal government to actively cooperate so the government's joint rapid response team dispatched to the area could smoothly carry out search and rescue operations for the nine Koreans who lost contact.
Nepal's military authorities are working to rescue more than 100 people trapped in the tunnel of the Upper Trishuli (UT)-1 hydropower plant flooded by the deluge. Workers from Doosan Enerbility and Korea South-East Power (KOEN) who lost contact after the flood had been involved in building the facility, the largest hydropower plant in Nepal.
However, thick mud piling up at the scene has reportedly hampered rescuers' access and search efforts.
On the Korean side, six helicopters were leased locally to find nine Koreans missing from the hydropower plant construction site—six Doosan Enerbility employees and three from Korea South-East Power (KOEN). Among them, a helicopter leased by Korea South-East Power (KOEN) received approval from Nepal's military authorities the day before and was deployed for the first time to search the flood-affected area, but no missing persons have yet been found.