South Korea asks Nepal to step up search for nine missing people
South Korea has asked Nepalese authorities to provide full support for the search for nine citizens of the country who went missing after massive floods. On Sunday in Kathmandu, South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun met with his Nepalese counterpart Shishir Khanal and expressed serious concern over the lack of information about the whereabouts of the missing people.
Assistance to Nepal
The ministers discussed the progress of the search-and-rescue operation, the Nepalese authorities’ response to the natural disaster and the assistance provided by Seoul. As Korea Herald reports, South Korea sent the Korean Disaster Relief Team to Nepal on Wednesday. The group arrived with search, rescue and forensic equipment requested by the Nepalese side and is working jointly with local authorities.
Cho Hyun also announced plans to provide humanitarian supplies worth 130 million won, or about $94,000, as well as allocate $1 million in humanitarian aid through the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.
More current news is available on the UA.News Telegram channel Telegram.
Missing hydropower plant workers
The sides agreed to maintain close contact to ensure the uninterrupted conduct of search-and-rescue operations and help Nepalese residents return to normal life. They also agreed to strengthen coordination on climate change at international platforms.
More than 5,000 people are still considered missing after the floods. Among them are nine South Koreans who worked on the construction of the Upper Trishuli-1 hydropower plant in Rasuwa District, Bagmati Province, in north-central Nepal. Six of them are employees of Doosan Enerbility, while the other three work for Korea South-East Power Co.
On Saturday, a joint team of Nepalese military personnel and the Korean rescue group rescued a Chinese citizen from a tunnel at the Upper Trishuli-1 construction site. This happened at the same facility where the missing South Koreans worked.
