"Two Search Helicopters Depart for Nepal's Missing Korean Workers"... Firefighters on Board Government Response Team

[Financial News] Two search helicopters took off one after another on the 29th local time to rescue nine Korean workers missing at a hydropower plant site in Nepal. It came three days after a glacier flood hit Nepal on the 26th.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that the first rescue helicopter departed at 11:45 a.m. local time, followed by another at 12:38 p.m.
Four members of the government response team, all from the National Fire Agency (NFA), were aboard the first helicopter. Four more response team members were on the second helicopter.
The first search for the nine missing South Koreans affected by the floods in Nepal was carried out the previous day with one Nepal Army helicopter and one civilian helicopter. However, the helicopters prepared by the South Korean government response team had remained on standby and were unable to take off because of concerns over a second flood.
The government, Doosan Enerbility, and Korea South-East Power chartered a total of six helicopters. Five NFA personnel and one Foreign Ministry official had been waiting at Kathmandu airport, split across the chartered aircraft.
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 Foreign Minister Cho Hyun in a meeting to launch search helicopters immediately so that the "golden time" is not lost.
Cho met with the families of the nine missing Korean workers on the day. However, the government did not disclose the details of the meeting between Cho and the families. The Foreign Ministry said, "Because the meeting was held informally, we cannot disclose the specific details."
Meanwhile, a total of 19 Koreans were either reported missing (9) or were temporarily stranded (10) in the flood-hit area. All 10 Korean workers from Doosan Enerbility who had been stranded in a relatively safe area away from the accident site have been evacuated. The two South Koreans who remained in the disaster area until the end withdrew the previous day amid concerns over a second major flood. One Korean national and one embassy staff member who had stayed at a temporary shelter in Nepal's Rasuwa region were moved to a safe area by a Nepal Army helicopter.
Until then, one local site manager from Doosan Enerbility had remained at the site with local employees in order to evacuate together. One consul also stayed on site after being sent in as a replacement. But they were evacuated as concerns over a second flood grew. [email protected] Kim Kyung-soo reporter

[email protected] Kim Kyung-soo Reporter