The government will push again on the 30th for helicopter searches to find nine Koreans missing in Nepal's massive flooding.
According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, a total of two helicopters—one leased by the government's joint rapid response team and one leased by Doosan Enerbility—are planning search flights. However, flight clearance has not yet been finalized, pending local weather conditions and the judgment of the Nepal Army authorities leading the search and rescue.
If the helicopters take off, the government plans to prioritize searches in the Weir Dam area. Some of the missing Koreans worked there, and the families of the missing are also requesting searches.
The government also planned to search the Weir Dam on the 29th, the day before, but could not approach due to worsening weather and rugged terrain. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that if flights are cleared that day, it will prioritize searches in the area.
The previous day, one government-leased helicopter took off twice and searched the skies over the site. Excluding helicopters operated by Nepalese authorities, the Korean helicopter was reportedly the only civilian helicopter granted takeoff clearance at the time.
The Korean helicopter conducted visual searches while flying over the site without landing. It also secured video footage of the scene and is analyzing it again.
An official at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said, "Based on the two searches yesterday, additional searches appear likely," adding, "The search area will also expand."
Alongside helicopter searches, the government is supporting the search for the missing in various ways. The second government joint rapid response team dispatched locally the day before also brought search drones. However, drones likewise require operating approval from local authorities, so a decision on their deployment will be made separately from the helicopter searches, taking into account on-site conditions.
The government is providing Nepal with coordinates and maps where the missing Koreans are presumed to be and is requesting searches. The Nepal Army is also conducting ground searches for the missing Koreans.
When the Korean rapid response team helicopter was flying over the site the previous day, one Nepal Army helicopter was also seen landed at the site. A Ministry of Foreign Affairs official said, "Upon checking with the Nepalese side, we were told they launched the helicopter with the uncontactable Koreans in mind," adding, "But they said no survivors were found."
The site is known to be difficult for helicopter landings because the mountains are rugged, the slopes are steep, and the area is densely wooded. With Nepalese authorities in principle restricting operations by civilian helicopters, including foreign-chartered aircraft, search activities by the Korean government and corporations are also constrained.
Meanwhile, the government believes it is unlikely that Koreans are inside the hydropower plant tunnel where Nepalese authorities are focusing their rescue efforts. The tunnel is not a Korean worksite, and it is not within walking distance from the missing persons' workplaces, making it unlikely they sought refuge in the tunnel during the flood.
Park Jae-kyung, the new ambassador to Nepal appointed on the 28th, is scheduled to arrive locally on the 31st.
According to Nepal's National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority, at least 734 people have died and 2,498 are missing, including 589 foreigners, due to the massive flooding that swept across Bagmati Province in central Nepal as of that day.
Including the toll compiled by Chinese authorities for the Tibet Autonomous Region, the death toll stands at at least 750 and the number of missing at 3,044. In the Tibet Autonomous Region, 16 people have died and 546 are missing, including 261 foreigners.