Kathmandu: A South Korean relief team dispatched to Nepal was set to deploy drones Tuesday as part of their search efforts for nine South Koreans who remain missing following last month's devastating floods, Seoul's foreign ministry said. The second contingent of the Korea Disaster Relief Team (KDRT), who arrived in Kathmandu on Friday, was seeking to employ drones for the rescue operation in coordination with Nepali authorities, according to the ministry.
According to Yonhap News Agency, the nine South Koreans -- six employees of Doosan Enerbility Co. and three of Korea South-East Power Co. -- went missing on Aug. 26 after massive floods and landslides hit Rasuwa District near the Nepal-Tibet border while they were working at a hydropower plant construction site. The eight-member contingent was briefed on the ongoing search missions led by South Korean companies and has conducted on-site inspections for reconstruction and recovery efforts in flood-stricken Nepal.
On Saturday, the first 44-member KDRT contingent returned home after a 10-day search-and-rescue mission. The team rescued one Chinese survivor but failed to locate the South Koreans still unaccounted for. More than 1,400 people have been killed, with over 5,600 still missing in Nepal and China's Tibet Autonomous Region following the disaster, according to foreign media reports.