Nepal Rescue

Seoul, South Korea— South Koreans missing in Nepal floodsfamily members have issued an urgent plea to President Lee Jae Myung and foreign ministry officials in Seoul, demanding immediate diplomatic intervention and expanded ground search operations as the disaster enters its fifth day.

The desperate appeal follows a catastrophic glacier-triggered flash flood that struck the construction site of the Upper Trishuli-1 hydropower facility in the Rasuwa region, located north of Kathmandu. Nine South Korean nationals working on the major energy project—comprising six employees from construction firm Doosan Enerbility and three personnel from state-owned utility Korea South-East Power—lost contact during the sudden inundation and remain unaccounted for.

While a specialized South Korean rapid response team arrived in Kathmandu shortly after the disaster, search efforts have faced severe delays due to restricted airspace authorization and bad weather conditions. Relatives who traveled directly to Nepal expressed intense frustration over what they described as an over-reliance on limited aerial reconnaissance, calling on authorities to urgently deploy search personnel on the ground.

Flight Restrictions and Operational Delays

Family members of the missing engineers met with government officials and response team leaders in Kathmandu to provide precise coordinates, terrain maps, and tracking data collected from survivors. Despite receiving detailed location data identifying potential survival pockets near the upstream weir dam, search crews have been unable to conduct comprehensive ground operations.

Search efforts hit significant logistical barriers after Nepalese military authorities restricted private helicopter operations over concerns of secondary landslides and severe weather. Although two aerial searches were conducted over the weekend, flight crews were limited to visual inspections from the air without landing at the impacted plant site.

"We have already lost four critical days since the response team arrived in Nepal, and nothing substantial has been accomplished on the ground," relatives told journalists gathered in Kathmandu. "The government must use every diplomatic channel available to press Nepalese authorities to authorize immediate ground searches. Simply looking from a helicopter window is not going to find our loved ones."

Uncertainty Over Foreign Rescue Authorization

The search operation has been further complicated by administrative negotiations between Seoul and local Nepalese authorities regarding foreign rescue assistance. Representatives from Nepal's Foreign Ministry initially indicated that domestic security forces were managing rescue efforts independently and did not require foreign personnel on the ground.

In response, South Korean diplomats continue high-level negotiations with Nepalese officials to secure official clearance for ground deployment, citing the specialized nature of the remote mountain construction site. The missing South Korean personnel were stationed at isolated positions along the river basin to manage facility construction when the torrent of water, mud, and heavy debris swept through the canyon.

Key operational developments surrounding the rescue mission include:

  • Targeted Upstream Locations: Relatives relayed verified survivor accounts pointing to upstream shelter areas near the river weir where missing staff were last seen before communications failed.
  • Diplomatic Coordination: South Korean foreign ministry representatives are negotiating directly with Nepalese military commanders to grant immediate access to ground search personnel and private transport aircraft.
  • Corporate Support Deployment: Executive leadership from Doosan Enerbility and Korea South-East Power mobilized emergency site managers and local logistics teams to assist response operations once access permits are finalized.

Rising Despair Among Families

Frustrated by the pace of official rescue coordination, several family members took independent initiative in Kathmandu, contacting local police commanders in Rasuwa and tracking down an eyewitness who escaped the power station grounds during the initial flood wave. The witness confirmed that several workers fled toward higher ground along the mountain slopes, offering a brief ray of hope for families awaiting updates.

Families stressed that the missing individuals were not tourists visiting remote hiking trails, but skilled technical specialists building critical energy infrastructure under bilateral economic partnerships. They urged top political leaders in Seoul to demonstrate maximum urgency and treat the situation as an international emergency.

"We are not trying to criticize our government; we are simply desperate to save our family members before time runs out," one relative stated. "The South Korean government is the only authority that can advocate for us with the Nepalese military. We need them to act decisively today."

As rescue teams await final operational clearances, officials in Seoul confirmed that President Lee Jae Myung reissued orders to deploy all available state resources to support the search mission and ensure the safe return of all missing workers.

Originally published on kr.ibtimes.com