As the death toll from massive floods that swept the Himalayan mountain region on the Nepal-China border has risen to at least 804, search and rescue operations are in full swing to find more than 3,000 missing people. The search for nine missing Koreans is facing difficulties due to bad weather and delays in flight permits from local authorities.
On the 30th, the fifth day since the deluge (local time), CNN and others said Nepal Police reported that 788 people had died as of the day due to the massive floods that occurred around Bagmati Province in the north on the 26th. Adding 16 deaths released by the Chinese side brings the total fatalities to 804 and the number of missing to 3,048.
On the ground, large-scale search and rescue efforts continue to find the more than 3,000 missing. In particular, attention is on whether news of miraculous survival will emerge, as crews are opening an access route into a hydropower plant tunnel where more than 100 people are believed to be trapped and are injecting air through pipes.
However, as heavy rain has raised river levels, concerns about further flooding are growing, and a lack of specialized equipment and rescue capacity is making the search difficult.
The search to find the nine missing Koreans is also facing difficulties.
Initially, the Korean government joint rapid response team and Doosan Enerbility planned to deploy two chartered helicopters—one each—to find the nine missing Koreans.
However, according to local corporations' response teams, Doosan Enerbility applied for a flight permit for one helicopter again that day following the previous day but ultimately was unable to launch the helicopter.
In the morning, bad weather prevented flights, and in the afternoon, a Nepalese policy barring foreign helicopter operations kept flights grounded. Constantly changing local conditions, including weather and the risk of a second flood, are also hindering the search. Nepalese authorities believe that rapidly rising river levels and the concentration of rescue helicopters in narrow gorges could pose safety risks.
Doosan Enerbility is waiting on site for Nepalese authorities to issue a helicopter flight permit.
Korea South-East Power also applied for a flight permit for its chartered helicopter and awaited approval but did not receive it. Korea South-East Power searched the flooded area once and dropped relief supplies on the 28th with approval from the Nepalese military authorities.
Since the 28th, helicopters chartered by corporations have been unable to take off. On the 29th, only the government rapid response team's helicopter conducted two search sorties, and on the 30th, no helicopter searches were carried out.
As the search is delayed, families of the missing are pleading, saying, "The golden time has completely passed," and "Please get a helicopter in the air even one more time."
Meanwhile, the Nepalese government asked the international community for specialized equipment and experts needed for search and rescue, including large transport drones, DNA test kits, and refrigerated facilities for body storage.
In response, the United States and Canada each pledged about $3.6 million, the European Union (EU) pledged $2.5 million (34.5 billion won), the United Kingdom pledged 5 million pounds (about 9.343 billion won), and Malaysia pledged $1 million (about 1.38 billion won).
The United Nations disbursed $2.5 million in emergency aid funds, and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) allocated more than $1 million to support Nepal while launching an emergency appeal of $31 million.