Search For S. Koreans Missing In Himalayas Could Take Weeks: Report

KATHMANDU/SEOUL, Jan. 20 (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 20th Jan, 2020 ) :Search operations for four South Koreans missing in the Himalayas could take at least a few weeks as bad weather conditions are hampering rescue efforts, officials said.

The school teachers from South Korea's central province of South Chungcheong remain unaccounted for after an avalanche while trekking at the popular Annapurna Base Camp northwest of Nepal on Friday. Three Nepali guides are also missing.

Nepali authorities have been trying to ramp up search efforts, but heavy snowfall and rain are interrupting the operation. Rescuers had to suspend the search operations Sunday afternoon (local time) due to fresh avalanches that occurred at the scene.

An official from Nepal's tourism ministry said Sunday the search could take 20 days as the weather needs to clear for the authorities to start looking for the missing tourists, Reuters reported.

It quoted one of the rescuers as saying that the operations could take even longer because they need to wait for the snow to melt.

Um Hong-gil, a prominent South Korean climber, told Yonhap news Agency on Monday that the accident site appears to be in the worst situation.

"A person who went close to the scene told me that a huge chunk of ice that had been piled up on high grounds for a long time collapsed along with the snow," Um said. "This snow and ice has poured down into a deep valley and likely won't melt well even when the spring comes. I am afraid that the search might be prolonged." Um added that he plans to start lending a hand to the search operations.

Officials said earlier it takes three days by car and foot to arrive at the scene of an accident from Pokhara, the nearest major city, which is about 200 kilometers west of Kathmandu.

South Korea has dispatched an emergency response team of government officials and others to Kathmandu, the capital of Nepal, to assist the search operations.

The four missing -- two women in their 30s and 50s and two men in their 50s -- were among a nine-member team on a trekking course in the Deurali part of the Annapurna Base Camp when the avalanche engulfed them. The five others were rescued by a chopper from a nearby lodge.

The teachers were part of a 39-member volunteer team dispatched to Nepal by the education office of South Chungcheong Province.