"Search for Nine Missing People Conducted by Military Helicopter for the First Time"... Head of Government Response Team Says "One Nepalese Army Helicopter and One Civilian Helicopter Deployed"

[Financial News] A helicopter conducted its first search of the accident area on the 28th local time to help rescue nine South Korean nationals missing after Nepal's devastating floods.
At a press briefing held that day at the Crown Imperial Hotel in Kathmandu, Nepal, Lim Sang-woo, the government representative in charge of protecting overseas Koreans and consular affairs and head of the joint rapid response team, explained that the search for the nine people out of contact was carried out with one helicopter from the Nepalese Army and one civilian helicopter deployed.
He said that additional search operations still need to continue. He added that all efforts will be focused tomorrow to ensure the search for the nine missing people can proceed quickly.
The joint government response team, which had arrived in Nepal earlier, had been preparing for the search by renting civilian helicopters. However, it had been unable to move because the Nepalese military authorities restricted helicopter access amid concerns over a second major flood.
The government, Doosan Enerbility, and Korea South-East Power Co., Ltd. chartered a total of six helicopters. Five firefighters from the National Fire Agency (NFA) and one official from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs had been waiting at Kathmandu airport after boarding the chartered helicopters separately.
Three days have passed since the accident on the 26th, but the nine missing people remain out of contact. Families of the missing have urged authorities to launch search helicopters immediately so that the "golden time" is not lost.
Meanwhile, the two South Koreans who remained until the end in the flood-hit area of Nepal have all been evacuated amid fears of a second flood. One South Korean national and one embassy staff member who had stayed at a temporary shelter in Rasuwa, Nepal, were moved to a safe area by a Nepalese military helicopter the previous day.
Until then, one local manager from Doosan Enerbility had remained at the site with local employees in an effort to get out together. One consul also stayed behind after being sent in as a replacement. However, they appear to have evacuated as concerns over a second flood grew.
In total, 19 South Koreans were either missing or temporarily stranded in the flood. All 10 South Koreans from Doosan Enerbility who had been stranded in a relatively safe area away from the accident site have now completed evacuation.
Lim said, "Two of our nationals who had remained stranded in the power house at the site were safely rescued. One of them was a consul from our embassy who went to the power house so that our nationals could be safely rescued." He added that all 10 South Koreans who had initially been stranded in the area have now returned safely.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a special travel advisory for major high-risk areas in Nepal, which suffered massive flood damage, two days after the accident.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it issued a special travel advisory from around 9 p.m. on the 28th for four areas where the risk of additional flood damage remains a concern: Bagmati Province, Gandaki Province, Koshi Province, and Lumbini Province. It also issued a Level 1 advisory, or travel caution, for all other areas in Nepal outside the special advisory zones.
The ministry urged South Koreans planning to travel to the affected areas to cancel or postpone their trips. It also asked those already staying there to pay special attention to their personal safety and move to safer areas unless absolutely necessary.

[email protected] Kim Kyung-soo Reporter