Three KOEN site managers unaccounted for after Nepal flood; emergency response activated

Glacial lake outburst flood suspected at UT-1 hydropower construction site in Nepal

Acting CEO Jo Young-hyuk leads emergency response

A massive flood struck the Bagmati Province area of north-central Nepal at around 9 a.m. Wednesday (local time), according to Reuters, AP and other news agencies. South Korea's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said eight South Korean workers — employed by Korea South-East Power (KOEN) and Doosan Enerbility — lost contact after the flood hit the Rasuwa district of Bagmati Province, where they were building a hydropower plant. Another 10 Doosan Enerbility employees were stranded at the site awaiting rescue, and the Nepalese government dispatched helicopters to the scene. Pictured is Bundang Doosan Tower in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, where Doosan Enerbility's Seoul office is located, photographed Wednesday night. [Yonhap]

Three Korea South-East Power employees dispatched to Nepal's Rasuwa district have lost contact following a flood that struck the area. KOEN has activated an emergency task force and launched a full emergency response in connection with the flooding at its hydropower construction site.

According to KOEN on Thursday, three employees working at the UT-1 hydropower project site near Kathmandu became unreachable after a large surge of water hit the site Wednesday. A total of seven KOEN employees are currently deployed in Nepal.

"We understand that site damage occurred due to a sudden, large-scale flood that originated upstream of the UT-1 hydropower construction site at around 9 a.m. local time on Wednesday," a KOEN official said. "Acting CEO Jo Young-hyuk immediately activated the emergency response system, established an emergency task force, and is operating a 24-hour response regime."

Immediately after the incident, KOEN dispatched personnel from its local subsidiary in Kathmandu to the site. The company is also building an emergency coordination network with its local subsidiary, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the South Korean Embassy in Nepal and Nepalese military units.

"We have urgently deployed Nepalese military rescue helicopters to the site and are concentrating all efforts on searching for survivors and conducting rescue operations," KOEN said. "We plan to dispatch headquarters staff to Nepal on Thursday to set up a local rescue camp and actively support rescue and relief activities."

oskymoon@heraldcorp.com