South Korean rescue team saves Chinese survivor at Nepal flood site

Ten days after a massive flash flood hit Nepal’s Himalayan mountains, South Korea’s overseas emergency relief team found a survivor in a tunnel near Weir Dam.

The Korea Disaster Relief Team, known as KDRT, rescued one Chinese national and recovered a body of unidentified nationality during searches on Sept. 5, according to South Korea’s Foreign Ministry. The survivor was found near a tunnel close to Weir Dam, while the body was also recovered in the search area.

The rescue was the ninth carried out by KDRT since its establishment in 2007. The team previously rescued eight people after the 2023 earthquake in Türkiye, bringing the total to nine with the Nepal operation.

Seven KDRT members moved to a military base in the morning before taking turns flying by helicopter to the search area. They searched the tunnel near Weir Dam upstream on the Trishuli River and areas near the powerhouse of a hydroelectric plant during morning and afternoon operations.

Authorities believe one South Korean worker may have been at Weir Dam during the floods. The powerhouse is also considered a possible location where a South Korean national went missing, and KDRT continued searching both areas.