Key facts
- Nine South Korean nationals are missing in Nepal following flash floods.
- South Korea is deploying helicopters for a second day to aid in the search.
- Two helicopters are slated for use, one government-chartered and one by Doosan Enerbility.
- Flight authorization for the helicopters is pending.
- Six Doosan Enerbility employees and three Korea South-East Power Co. employees are among the missing.
- Ten other isolated workers have been safely moved.
A South Korean response team is continuing search operations in Nepal for nine nationals who went missing after catastrophic flash floods devastated the Himalayan country. The government plans to use helicopters for a second day in the search efforts. Two helicopters are scheduled to be deployed: one chartered by the government's rapid response team and another by Doosan Enerbility. However, flight authorization is still pending as ground conditions and decisions by Nepali authorities overseeing the rescue effort remain fluid.
On Saturday, a government-chartered helicopter carrying four rapid response team members flew twice from Kathmandu toward the flood site. It was reportedly the only non-Nepali aircraft cleared to fly that day. The helicopter was unable to land, and the search was conducted visually, with footage from the flight being analyzed.
Six employees of Doosan Enerbility Co. and three of Korea South-East Power Co. remain missing since the massive floods struck Nepal's north-central Himalayan border area on Wednesday. They were working at a hydroelectric power plant construction site in the Rasuwa district when the floods hit. Ten other Doosan workers who had been isolated at a different location have been moved to safety. A ministry official indicated that Sunday's search area would be larger than the previous day's.