"The Spray Was So Heavy We Couldn’t Even See the Office Building"... A Survivor’s Testimony, and Where Are the Nine Koreans?

[Financial News] As the whereabouts of nine Koreans, including employees from Doosan Enerbility and Korea South-East Power Co., Ltd., remain unknown for the sixth day after a record-breaking flood hit north-central Nepal, a joint government rapid response team has launched an on-the-ground search by road for the first time. Despite extremely difficult conditions, including flight restrictions and washed-out roads, the government and related companies are mobilizing every available means to locate the missing.
According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the National Fire Agency (NFA) on the 31st, the nine-member search team from the joint rapid response team left the Embassy of the Republic of Korea in Nepal in Kathmandu at 7:20 a.m. local time and headed to Ramche in Rasuwa, the site of the disaster.
The team is expected to travel by vehicle for about five hours before continuing on foot toward the area near the hydropower plant construction site. Fire officials who visited Nuwakot District and the Batar area, key access points to the site, the previous day checked road conditions and safety in advance and concluded that it would be possible to approach the disaster area within the day. If the overland route is secured, it will mark the first direct physical search at the site since the accident.
Before departure, Cho Yeong-hyuk, head of the NFA Central 119 Rescue Headquarters, said, "We are heading to Ramche to gather information for the on-site search and to carry out rescue operations," adding, "We will do our best to ensure a swift search and rescue while prioritizing the safety of our personnel."
Aerial searches using helicopters have also faced setbacks. The previous day, the government and Doosan Enerbility tried to deploy two chartered helicopters, but the Nepal Army blocked the flights, citing air traffic congestion, the risk of further flooding, and safety concerns. Doosan Enerbility has since reapplied for permission to operate two private helicopters and is also pushing ahead with drone-assisted searches.
The companies with missing employees have also moved into emergency response mode. Doosan Group Chairman Park Jung-won and Vice Chairman Park Ji-won, who also serves as chairman of Doosan Enerbility, were sent directly to Nepal and are overseeing the search from the headquarters in Kathmandu. Doosan has increased its on-site response team to 16 people and decided to provide $5 million, or about 7 billion won, in emergency aid to the affected area. Korea South-East Power Co., Ltd. has also dispatched a second local response team led by acting CEO Cho Yeong-hyuk, bringing the total number of dedicated staff supporting the search to 20.
Meanwhile, the death toll across Nepal continues to rise sharply. According to the country’s disaster authorities, at least 788 people had died and 2,502 were missing as of the 30th. More than 100 people are believed to be trapped in hydropower tunnels in the Rasuwa area, and local conditions have reached a critical point, with morgues overflowing and Nepalese authorities temporarily burying more than 200 unidentified bodies after collecting DNA samples.
The government plans to continue overland searches and, in close coordination with senior Nepal Army and Nepal Police officials, keep pressing for focused searches around the presumed locations of the missing Koreans as well as approval for helicopter operations.
[email protected] Moon Young-jin Reporter