Doosan Enerbility Co. said one of the helicopters it had secured for the search took off at around 11 a.m. local time and headed towards the site in Rasuwa district, where the missing South Koreans had been working at a hydroelectric power plant construction project when the disaster struck last Wednesday.
The nine missing people include six employees of Doosan Enerbility and three employees of Korea South-East Power Co.
Search personnel aboard the helicopter surveyed the area for signs of the missing workers and recorded video footage for further analysis, the company said.
Doosan has secured two helicopters for the search, while South Korea has arranged a total of six. The last South Korean helicopter to receive clearance had operated twice on Saturday, according to Yonhap News Agency.
Meanwhile, a South Korean government joint rapid response team began a ground search earlier on Monday after being unable to secure helicopter clearance amid adverse weather and restrictions imposed by Nepalese authorities on foreign helicopters.
The team, comprising officials from the Foreign Ministry, police and fire authorities, moved by road towards Ramche, located around 1-2 km from the site where the nine South Koreans went missing, and planned to camp there overnight.
“As we did not receive helicopter clearance Sunday, some team members left by road and moved as close as possible to the accident site,” a Foreign Ministry official said. “After taking the overall situation at the site into consideration, we determined that a ground search would be possible.”
The team also plans to conduct a drone search, subject to approval from local authorities.
South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun spoke by phone with Nepalese Foreign Minister Shisir Khanal and requested close cooperation to expedite the search and rescue operation. Cho particularly sought assistance from the Nepalese military in accessing areas where the missing South Koreans are believed to have lost communication.
Cho thanked the Nepalese government for rescuing 10 other South Koreans who were initially trapped by the floods and said Seoul was considering ways to support Nepal where assistance was needed.
Khanal thanked South Korea for its support and solidarity, with both ministers agreeing to maintain close communication on rescue and recovery efforts.
The response team has also been interviewing Nepalese survivors to establish the movements of the missing South Koreans before communication was lost.
The floods and landslides have caused extensive destruction across Nepal, with foreign media reports putting the death toll at more than 800 and the number of missing at around 3,000.
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