Massive flooding and landslides in the Himalayan border area between Nepal and China's Tibet have left eight South Koreans out of contact and 10 others stranded at a hydropower plant under construction in the region. President Lee Jae-myung ordered an all-out response to the search and rescue effort, and the government said it would send a joint rapid response team to the site.
The flooding hit the Rasuwa area of Bagmati province, north of the Nepalese capital Kathmandu, cutting roads, communications and power supplies in the region, Reuters and other outlets reported on the 26th. Main roads leading to Kathmandu were closed, and witnesses described the scene by saying the water swallowed entire villages. Local broadcasters aired footage of houses collapsing and cars washing away as the floodwaters tore through the settlements.
Among the missing are South Korean nationals. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said eight South Korean employees of Korea South-East Power and Doosan Enerbility, who had been building a hydropower plant in the area, were out of contact. Another 10 South Koreans employed by Doosan Enerbility are stranded at the site awaiting rescue. Doosan Enerbility, which is carrying out engineering, procurement and construction work on Nepal's Upper Trishuli-1 hydropower project, had a total of 20 South Korean employees at the construction site. Of the 15 who were on site when the disaster struck, five are currently unreachable. The company set up an emergency response headquarters the same day to assess the situation and manage the aftermath. A field response team including Chief Executive Officer Chung Yeon-in is scheduled to be flown to the site on the 27th. A Doosan Enerbility official said the company had promptly contacted the families of the employees who lost contact after the disaster to explain the situation.
The Upper Trishuli-1 hydropower plant is being built with a capacity of 216 megawatts on the Trishuli River, 70 kilometers north of Kathmandu. Doosan Enerbility is responsible for construction of the plant and for manufacturing and supplying major equipment including turbines and generators.
Korea South-East Power, which has lost contact with three employees at the site, also launched an emergency response. The utility said three construction management staff at the site are unreachable, out of a total of seven employees dispatched to Nepal, excluding personnel at the company's local unit in Kathmandu. A Korea South-East Power official said the company was continuing to attempt contact and taking necessary steps in line with its manuals, with its overseas business division taking the lead.
The government established a task force for the protection of overseas nationals headed by Foreign Minister Cho Hyun, who chaired a meeting on the missing persons in Nepal the same day to discuss specific response measures. It also plans to dispatch a joint government rapid response team made up of officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the National Fire Agency and the Korean National Police Agency to the site in the shortest possible time.
President Lee called for an active response as soon as he was briefed on the disappearances. Senior Presidential Spokesperson Kang Yu-jung said the president issued an urgent instruction to mobilize all available means and devote every effort to searching for and rescuing the missing, placing the lives and safety of Korean nationals first. Kang added that the president called for close cooperation with the Nepalese government and local authorities, thorough support for the families of the missing, measures to ensure the safety of Korean nationals still at the site, and every effort to prevent further damage.
The flooding is believed to have been caused by snow and ice melting in unusually high temperatures and flowing into rivers. The accident site is about 120 kilometers north of Kathmandu, in the border area with China's Tibet Autonomous Region in the Himalayas. Snow accumulated in the Himalayas melted in the abnormal heat and flowed into the river, according to the assessment. Nepalese army spokesperson Raja Ram Basnet said rescue helicopters would likely find it difficult to land in the affected areas until the suddenly swollen waters receded.
The Rasuwa area, which suffered the heaviest damage this time, was hit by a similar flash flood in August last year. High temperatures in the mountains caused a glacial lake in neighboring Tibet to overflow, killing nine people. Key infrastructure, including a bridge connecting the two countries, was also damaged.
The Himalayas, a major water source for some 2 billion people in Asia, have seen glaciers melt away more than twice as fast since the start of the 21st century because of warming. Glacier thickness in the region declined by an average of 34 centimeters a year before 2000, but has been shrinking by 73 centimeters a year since 2000, more than twice as fast, according to research.
At least 19 people were killed in the flooding and 384 travelers were reported missing, including 291 foreigners and 93 Nepalese, Nepal's police and tourism board said. The missing foreigners include 105 Indians.
