At 8:37 AM on Aug. 26, 2026, a massive glacier collapse occurred near the border between Nepal and the Tibet region of China.
Experts initially suspected a Glacial Lake Outburst Flood (GLOF), where a glacial lake collapses, sending torrents of water and sediment into the Koshi and Trishuli Rivers.
But the following day, NASA’s Landsat 9 Satellite captured evidence of a glacier collapse near Langtang Lirung Peak.
It appears that the landslide, mass possessing immense kinetic energy, raced down the steep gorge, continuously entraining existing river water and water-saturated sediments from the valley floor.
The Nepal Disaster Management Authority reported on Sept. 15 that 1,395 people died and another5,130 people were missing due to the flood.
The numbers of those dead and missing are expected to climb. Property damage is also estimated to exceed 200 billion rupees.
In the meantime, a massive flood struck the construction site of Upper Trishuli-1 (UT-1) Hydroelectric Power Plant in Nepal, which is being built by Doosan Enerbility, leaving Korean employees stranded and missing.
While nine South Koreans — including employees from Doosan Enerbility and Korea South-East Power — had lost contact and were initially reported missing, some of those stranded were rescued and returned to Korea on Aug. 31.
Search operations for the remaining missing individuals are still ongoing, nearly three weeks after the incident.
According to industry sources on Sept. 8, Doosan Enerbility deployed a helicopter to the site of the massive floods in Nepal to conduct search operations on Sept. 7.
It is reported that Korean employees from Doosan Enerbility were on board the chopper.
The helicopter reportedly focused its search on the area downstream from the main camp at the Upper Trishuli-1 Hydropower Project construction site which was struck by the floods.
Additionally, the company deployed three drones the previous day to conduct low-altitude search flights in the area downstream of the main camp.
Doosan Group Chairman Park Jung-won and Vice Chairman Park Ji-won departed for Nepal on Aug. 29 to oversee the search operations for Doosan Enerbility employees who lost contact following floods in the country.
Doosan Enerbility has maintained an on-site response team since urgently dispatching it to Nepal on Aug. 28.
The team is led by Vice Chairman and CEO Jung Yeon-in.
Doosan Enerbility has continuously reinforced the on-site response team, expanding its personnel to approximately 20 members.
In Korea, an emergency response headquarters opened at the company’s headquarters in Bundang, Gyeonggi-do, to manage the situation.
Doosan Enerbility established this emergency response headquarters immediately after the flood occurred on Aug. 26.
Korea South-East Power (KOEN) is conducting an all-out search operation to locate employees who lost contact near a hydroelectric power plant in Nepal, deploying helicopters, drones, search dogs, and professional mountaineers.
The company’s management is also engaging in high-level consultations with the Nepalese government and military authorities to secure support for rescue activities.
KOEN announced on Sept. 4 that it deployed two ground search teams, two drone teams operating six drones, and two search dog teams with four dogs to locate the missing KOEN employees, focusing on the Ramche area near UT-1 Hydroelectric Power Plant.
KOEN launched a full-scale search using a chartered helicopter on Aug. 26, the day the disaster occurred.
However, as adverse weather and rugged mountainous terrain made it difficult to obtain takeoff clearance for the helicopter, the company subsequently deployed ground search teams, rappelling search teams, drone teams, and search dog teams to the site.
To date, a total of 65 personnel across six ground search teams — comprising professional mountaineers and others — have participated in the operation.
They are intensively searching the area stretching from Ramche near the power plant to UT-1 Hydroelectric Power Plant’s base camp, as well as the surrounding mountainous terrain.
On Sept. 14, the Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced, “The Korea Disaster Relief Team (KDRT) contingent is striving to continue search and rescue operations within the scope permitted by the Nepalese government on safety grounds, receiving support from the Nepalese military.”
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