Search Continues for 4 Missing Koreans in Annapurna for Third Day... Additional Experts Deployed (Comprehensive)

Additional 6 to 10 Experts Deployed to Search Teams of 20 Police Officers and Residents

Ministry of Foreign Affairs Rapid Response Team Arrives in Kathmandu

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kwon Jaehee] The search operation for four missing Korean teachers and local guides in Annapurna, Nepal Himalayas, who went missing on the 17th (local time), has been ongoing for three days.

According to the Korean Embassy in Nepal on the 19th, an additional 6 to 10 police experts with rescue experience were deployed to the search that day.

The previous day, three search teams consisting of 13 local residents familiar with the terrain and 7 local police officers from nearby areas conducted the search.

They arrived at the accident site around 2:30 PM the previous day, but due to the rough local terrain and heavy snow and strong winds, they withdrew from the site around 4 PM. A search helicopter was also deployed, but due to bad weather, it could not land near the accident site.

The Nepal Ministry of Tourism stated, "Police rescue teams were urgently dispatched to the landslide site, but heavy snowfall prevented helicopters from landing, making search operations difficult," and added, "After weather conditions slightly improved on the 18th, about 200 stranded trekkers on the trekking course were rescued by helicopter, jeep, and on foot."

Currently, about 4 to 5 meters of snow has accumulated in the accident area, and additional avalanches are feared due to heavy snowfall, causing difficulties in the search operations.

Accordingly, Nepal rescue authorities decided to deploy more specialized police rescue personnel from Chomrong, a large village near the accident site.

The search team, numbering about 30 people, is staying together at accommodation about a 30-minute walk from the site, focusing all efforts on the rescue operation.

The government is also operating an emergency response team composed of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Korean Embassy in Nepal, and on the afternoon of the 18th, a rapid response team consisting of Ministry of Foreign Affairs staff arrived in Kathmandu, Nepal's capital, along with six family members of the missing persons.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs strengthened search support by dispatching a second rapid response team on the same day.

The accident site can be reached by vehicle and on foot in about three days from Pokhara in central Nepal. Flights from Kathmandu to Pokhara have frequently been canceled recently due to bad weather.

It usually takes 7 to 8 hours by vehicle from Kathmandu to Pokhara, but many roads are cut off, making travel difficult.

Nevertheless, it has been confirmed that the families of the missing have decided to move to Pokhara for the time being.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

President Moon Jae-in said on Facebook, "I pray together with the people for a swift rescue," and added, "With the Lunar New Year holiday just a week away, my heart aches thinking of the missing persons and their families who are fighting for their lives at the crossroads of life and death."

Meanwhile, this accident occurred during the descent due to worsening weather conditions on the morning of the 17th local time (10:30?11:00 AM, 1:45?2:15 PM Korean time) at the Deurali area (elevation 3,230m) on the Annapurna Base Camp (ABC) trekking course. Nine teachers who visited the area as part of the Chungnam Office of Education overseas volunteer group were trekking, and among them, four teachers ahead and two Nepali guides were caught in an avalanche and went missing.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.