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How much further until we can find a trace? We keep going up. It just goes on forever.
A devastating flood in Nepal caused by glacier collapse led to massive casualties and missing persons, including Korean workers. Rescue efforts continue amid challenging conditions.
Key Takeaways
- The flood was caused by a sudden glacier collapse, leading to a catastrophic torrent.
- Rescue efforts are hampered by dangerous terrain and heavy debris.
- Survivors may still be trapped in air pockets within blocked tunnels.
- The disaster highlights the increasing risks from glacier melting in the Himalayas.
- Coordinated efforts between local authorities, Korean companies, and government teams are ongoing.
What the video covers
- A massive flood and landslide struck Nepal on August 26th, killing over 270 people and leaving 1,400 missing.
- The disaster was triggered by the collapse of glaciers and rocks in the high Himalayas, creating a torrent that devastated the Trishuli River area.
- Infrastructure, including roads and buildings, was severely damaged, with some areas completely blocked by debris.
- Nineteen Koreans were at a hydroelectric power plant construction site; 10 were rescued, but 9 remain missing.
- Rescue operations involve helicopter searches, drones, and ground teams despite difficult terrain and debris.
- A survivor was found inside a tunnel near the dam, but the tunnel remains largely blocked with dangerous conditions.
- Experts believe trapped air pockets inside the tunnel may be sustaining survivors.
- Families of the missing are desperate for news and support, with ongoing communication and search efforts by Korean companies and the government.
- There is concern about the potential for future disasters due to glacier melting and instability in the region.
- Efforts continue to both rescue missing persons and prepare for preventing future disasters.
Chapters
- 00:00Beginning the Search and Initial Observations
- 00:29Impact on Nepal and Road Blockages
- 01:29Disaster Warning and Evacuation
- 02:05Scale of the Flood and Casualties
- 03:13Damage to Infrastructure and Homes
- 04:05Korean Workers at Hydroelectric Plant
- 04:51Search and Rescue Operations Begin
- 05:43Emotional Impact on Families and Locals
- 07:52Tunnel Search and Discovery of Survivors
- 08:40Challenges in Tunnel Rescue Efforts
Full Transcript — Download SRT & Markdown
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Wow! We keep climbing this narrow, steep path in search of a glimmer of hope that might still remain there.
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We’ve cleared the mud, and they say cars can get through as far as Dhunche now.
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Since that day, so much has changed in Nepal. The road to Rasuwa, at the northern edge, is no exception. Ah, it’s blocked over there.
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The road swallowed by a massive surge of water. Massive floods and landslides have killed over 270 people so far, with 1,400 still missing.
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The disaster that struck without warning on August 26th destroyed everything. On that day, when ordinary life turned into a nightmare in an instant, our fellow citizens were there too.
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I received a phone call. It was around 9:10. They told me, "Uncle, it's a disaster, get out quickly." Why? They said water had come over from up there and the whole village was gone. To evacuate immediately. So I realized
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right away that something was very wrong. Even to his eyes, having lived here for over 10 years, the situation that day seemed grave.
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Back then, that right there is the river. The river looks different now, doesn't it? The water reached up to those branches—it was almost about to overflow right up to here. Like a bolt from the blue, I called all my friends
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here and got them to evacuate. A staggering 20 million tons of water poured down through the Himalayan gorge. In an instant, the fierce currents swallowed the Trishuli River area without a trace, causing over 1,700 casualties. This massive flood appears
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to have started when glaciers and rocks in the high Himalayas collapsed all at once. As the glacier moved down the valley, it gathered surrounding water and debris, turning into a massive torrent that rushed toward the river at high speed. A village in Bidur, Nepal,
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which suffered heavy damage. It's sinking. The ground has turned into a sponge. It’s not even easy to take a step.
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Buildings have collapsed or are barely standing, and even then, they’ve become uninhabitable due to the debris filling the interiors.
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Wow, I guess the water reached up to here. No matter how much we dig and clear, there’s no end in sight. When will we be able to reclaim our daily lives?
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Most heartbreaking of all is the loss of dear friends, lovers, and family. We don't know if they survived. And on that day, all contact with nine Koreans was also lost. Rasuwa, on the upper reaches of the Trishuli River.
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Construction of a hydroelectric power plant led by Korean companies was in full swing here. There were 19 Koreans at the site that day, and 10 of them who were at the power plant were rescued safely. However, when I heard the news and went outside,
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the spray made visibility so poor that I couldn't check on the camp or the office building across the way.
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Of the nine missing, eight are presumed to have been at the office building and dorms opposite the plant, and one at the upstream dam. Their whereabouts have not been confirmed since. To find them as quickly as possible, our
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government dispatched a rapid response team and emergency relief workers to the site. But with massive amounts of debris making it difficult to even approach, we started with a helicopter search. This area you see now is where the office building stood, where the
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eight Koreans are believed to have been. We mobilized drones for an intensive search, and for days, rescue workers rappelled down from helicopters to inspect the site directly. However, the Nepalese military said there were no safe landing spots in that
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mountainous area, but we requested a search, took off, and looked, but found nothing. Whether by road or by visual inspection, no unusual findings were discovered.
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Every time darkness falls, the anxiety only grows. Local Korean residents who have watched over the missing are also filled with desperate concern. Are the families of the missing here?
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Ah, come over here. Yes. If they come here for the weekend and are told their family is missing, coming all the way from the provinces, they must be so desperate. Feeling lost, and yesterday... I felt so sorry for them, knowing
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they had only arrived this year and suddenly faced such a tragedy. Oh, they just arrived this year?
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Yes. The husband hasn't been able to eat or drink for over ten days. His wife is young, and she's been waiting while drinking only water until yesterday; I can feel her pain and I'm worried about what might happen to her.
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I met a colleague who worked at the same site with the missing people just three months ago. Seeing these people who were laughing together just a short while ago makes it even more heartbreaking. The tunnel he mentioned is near the upstream dam. Could they
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really be waiting for rescue there? The day of the disaster. Our rescue team launched a helicopter once again and headed to the accident site. We arrived at the very place Tenzin had mentioned: the tunnel near the dam.
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Just as we were cutting through the pitch-black darkness, what is that? Uh? A survivor. There really was a survivor there. The first survivor our rescue team saved was a Chinese national. However, someone else.
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He pointed further inside the tunnel, indicating there was one more survivor. We continued the search immediately, but unfortunately, what we found was one body. Could there be other survivors in that tunnel? It was a situation where you’d sink up to your
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knees, yes, even your thighs, and had to pass through a very narrow space to reach the end of the tunnel.
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The inside of the tunnel was completely tangled with rocks and mud that had rushed in. It’s a situation where even moving your feet is not easy. A rescue expert who examined the tunnel search process says that hidden dangers
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are lurking everywhere, making the search difficult. Currently, it’s said that they went in 250 meters when rescuing the Chinese national, right?
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The problem is that since it’s a construction site, construction materials have been pushed in by external pressure, leaving everything in a state of complete disarray from how it was originally organized.
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Because there is a risk of hurting or piercing your feet while walking, you have to move carefully, dragging your feet instead of stepping down heavily.
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Despite the dangerous and difficult search, there is a clear need to verify until the very end.
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The tunnel is currently blocked, isn't it? There is a layer of air inside. If the water had risen slowly, it could have filled up to the ceiling. But because of the existing air layer inside, the debris rushed in suddenly.
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As a result, it blocked the outside from coming in, preserving the air layer inside. So, you have to assume that the people who were working inside are still alive.
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What the expert focused on is the so-called "air pocket." It suggests that as soil and sand rushed in suddenly, air could have been trapped in some space within the tunnel, providing a place to breathe. Every time news of a survivor being found
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breaks, all the families of the missing desperately hold onto hope once again. Korean companies are also reportedly moving to find the missing on-site. Of the workers, the company project team is hopeful. And all the families of the missing want one thing. That is for a
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more active search to be carried out. Every day, we are there from 6:00 AM to 8:00 PM. They said they are staying in constant communication.
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What is the search status of the local companies? Yes. We continue to make efforts every single day. Yes.
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Are you coming separately from the search team? That's right. From a corporate perspective, we are strengthening the ground search teams, and we are continuing the search using helicopters and drones.
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As well as the Koreans, of course. Catching workers. They are mobilizing every possible method for the search, but no good news has been heard yet. The bigger worry is that a disaster like this could strike again at any time.
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In the case of high-mountain glaciers, the ice isn't that thick, and it’s in a situation.
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water flowing, but because the supporting debris disappears, landslides occur, and since these complex disasters happen together, it was very difficult to predict.
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The possibility of disasters occurring as glaciers melt and collapse is growing. Crevasses, those deep cracks in the ice , are places that shouldn't really be changing like that. For instance, you get the feeling that they should remain unchanged for a thousand years, but you
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realize they are cracking more and more , and although it's very unfortunate, it's highly likely that such events will happen in the future as well. This There is someone who has watched these changes more closely than anyone else.
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That person is Captain Uhm Hong-gil. Now, the snow on the mountains Yes, yes. The glaciers are gradually shrinking.
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When you travel, can you feel it? Ah, I certainly feel it. Enough to feel it personally.
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Furthermore, he said there was a warning sign he witnessed just a few months ago.
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I haven't mentioned this on air before, but even back then, they were doing road construction because it had flooded; if this road floods every summer, isn't this something that was foreseen? This was a foreseeable event.
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Preparation to prevent the next disaster is also necessary. However, the priority right now is to find those who have not yet returned.
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You have to check until the very end, and only then if there are no survivors is it right to conclude, but the reason a nation exists is that its primary goal and purpose is to protect the lives and property of its citizens. The
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time to find the missing is running out . Two weeks have passed like this. We have been hoping, wishing, and waiting for these entire two weeks. So we are also waiting with a truly burning heart.
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Currently, our remaining companies are continuing the search for the missing, and the government also dispatched a second emergency rescue team today.
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That is why we cannot give up yet. We hope for miraculous news like the survivor found in the tunnel, and that all those who are missing safely return to the arms of the families waiting for them.
Topics:Nepal floodglacier collapseHimalayan disasterTrishuli River floodKorean workers missinghydroelectric power plantrescue operationlandslidenatural disasterglacier melting
