Nine South Koreans have gone missing following severe flooding in the central northern Himalayan region of Nepal. They were working at a large hydropower plant construction site involving South Korean companies.
According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on August 27, the floods in the Rasuwa region of Nepal have left three employees of Korea Southeast Power and six employees of Doosan Enerbility uncontactable. Another ten South Koreans from Doosan Enerbility have been confirmed safe. The government plans to dispatch a rapid response team, consisting of officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the National Fire Agency, and the National Police Agency, to assist in search and rescue efforts.
The missing South Koreans were working at the Upper Trishuli 1 hydropower plant, a 216 MW run-of-river project being constructed on the Trishuli River in Rasuwa, approximately 70 kilometers north of Kathmandu. The project is being implemented by the Nepal Water and Energy Development Company (NWEDC), a special purpose company established with participation from Korea Southeast Power, the Korea Overseas Infrastructure and Urban Development Corporation (KIND), the International Finance Corporation (IFC) of the World Bank Group, and local partners. Korea Southeast Power holds a 50% stake in NWEDC.
In 2020, NWEDC signed an EPC (Engineering, Procurement, and Construction) contract worth approximately 400 billion won with Doosan Heavy Industries, now known as Doosan Enerbility. Doosan Enerbility is responsible for supplying key equipment such as turbines and generators, as well as overseeing the overall construction of the power plant.
The total project cost is estimated at around $647 million, and construction was nearing completion. A ceremony to automate the sluice gates was held on May 28, attended by Park Tae-young, the South Korean ambassador to Nepal, and other government officials.
Meanwhile, according to reports from AP and AFP, Nepalese police have recovered 157 bodies during search operations. Earlier, Chinese state media CCTV reported that three people had died in the Tibetan region near the border, bringing the total death toll to 160.
The U.S. Geological Survey initially attributed the landslide and flooding to a magnitude 4.4 earthquake but later revised this to a magnitude 5.2 glacier collapse following further analysis.
* This article has been translated by AI.
Copyright ⓒ Aju Press All rights reserved.