South Korea’s emergency rescue team arrives in Nepal with helicopters, drones and phone data

South Korea has sent a 44-member emergency rescue team to Nepal, bringing rescue dogs, drones and specialized detection equipment to search for nine South Koreans who remain out of contact after floods and landslides. The team arrived at Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu at 6:27 a.m. local time on Sept. 2, after leaving Seoul Airport the previous night on a South Korean military transport plane.

The Korean Disaster Relief Team includes three Foreign Ministry officials, four members of the Korea International Cooperation Agency and 37 firefighters. Five rescue dogs, high-resolution drones, acoustic and visual equipment for locating people buried underground, and thermal imaging devices are among the equipment deployed. The team will work with Nepalese authorities to search for both the missing South Koreans and local victims. Its planned mission will last about 10 days, though officials may extend it depending on conditions.

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We are discussing this with the Nepalese side and are making some progress.

A government rapid-response team already on the ground reached Dhunche in Rasuwa district by road and searched with the Nepalese army. Dhunche lies about 2 kilometers from the Weir Dam, the upper dam of the Upper Trishuli-1 hydropower plant where the nine South Koreans worked. A search team from South Korea’s fire service flew by Nepalese army helicopter to inspect the Weir Dam, powerhouse and camp, and also conducted a detailed foot search near the dam.

Six members of the ground team planned to continue searching in Dhunche, while three returned to Kathmandu to analyze drone footage. South Korean officials are also discussing mobile-phone location tracking with Nepal. They said final signals from the missing people’s phones could help narrow the search across the rugged area, where movement remains difficult because of extensive debris, mud and steep terrain. A police officer assigned to the rapid-response team is gathering information from Nepalese survivors and local officials about possible locations.

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We also plan to use mobile-phone information to track the locations of the nine people who are out of contact.