Korean Rescue Team Searches Nepal Flood Zone on Foot and by Drone, Finds Nothing

South Korea’s overseas emergency relief team searched on foot and by drone on September 8 for nine South Koreans who lost contact during severe flooding in Nepal, but found no trace of them.

Seven relief workers joined the Nepalese army and traveled in two helicopters to areas the families had specifically asked them to search, including the powerhouse of the Upper Trishuli-1 hydropower plant and the area near Yellow Bridge. One helicopter landed at the powerhouse, while the other landed at a Nepalese army base six kilometers away.

The team at the powerhouse used drones after Nepalese soldiers judged the slopes too steep for a ground search. The second team walked along a temporary road toward the upper reaches, then stopped where the road ended and searched by drone for about one hour and 40 minutes. The teams found no unusual signs connected to the missing people.

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After 33 years of service and many search-and-rescue experiences, including the landslide caused by heavy rain in Naerincheon, Inje, Gangwon Province, in 2006, I could not help but feel helpless in Nepal because of the disaster’s unique nature and the terrain’s limited accessibility, which cannot be compared with conditions in South Korea.

Cho Hyun-moon, head of the National Fire Agency’s rescue headquarters, said his decades of search-and-rescue experience had not prepared him for the disaster’s unusual conditions and the terrain’s limited accessibility. He said the team was doing its best but apologized for the areas beyond its capacity.

Nepal’s army had previously opposed an on-foot search because of the steep terrain. The search went ahead after South Korea pressed Nepal for cooperation, including a September 6 meeting between Foreign Minister Cho Hyun and Nepalese Foreign Minister Shishir Khanal.

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We are doing our best while our citizens remain missing, but I feel sorry and regretful for the parts beyond our capacity.