Korea to dispatch disaster relief team to Nepal to support flood recovery efforts

A Korean disaster relief team was set to leave for Nepal late Tuesday to support search, rescue and other relief efforts following the recent devastating floods, the foreign ministry said.

The Korea Disaster Relief Team (KDRT), consisting of 44 personnel from the foreign ministry, the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA), fire authorities and other agencies, is scheduled to depart for Nepal at midnight aboard a KC-330 Cygnus multirole tanker transport aircraft, according to the ministry.

The team is expected to arrive in Nepal at 5:55 a.m. Wednesday (local time), bringing 700 pieces of equipment and five search-and-rescue dogs.

The team will stay in Nepal for about 10 days, conducting search and rescue operations for victims, including the nine Koreans who remain unaccounted for.

"We plan to conduct rescue operations in consultation with the Nepali government and our rapid response team already on the ground," a ministry official said. "The deployment may be extended beyond 10 days if necessary."

The KDRT is a statutory emergency response unit deployed to provide disaster relief, search and rescue, medical assistance and other support overseas.

It will be the KDRT's 12th deployment to a disaster site, according to the ministry.

Speaking at a Cabinet meeting earlier Tuesday, President Lee Jae Myung instructed officials to consider deploying additional resources, including helicopters and rescue personnel, to accelerate the search for the nine missing Koreans.

"I ask you to make every effort to conduct the search as soon as possible based on close cooperation with the Nepalese government and (relevant) corporate officials," the president said.

He also instructed government officials to ensure the safety of Korean rescue personnel working in Nepal amid concerns over potential additional flooding and adverse weather conditions, while ordering the prompt provision of humanitarian assistance to Nepal.

The massive floods and mudslides hit Nepal's north-central Himalayan region near the Nepal-Tibet border last Wednesday, killing more than 800 people and leaving around 3,000 others missing, according to foreign media reports.

"The deployment comes as the Nepali government requested our assistance in search and rescue operations in areas affected by the worsening floods in the Rasuwa district," another ministry official said.

The government sent a separate rapid response team to Nepal last week, which has been conducting ground and aerial searches for the nine missing Koreans.

The nine — six employees of Doosan Enerbility and three of Korea South-East Power Co. — were working at a hydroelectric power plant construction site in Rasuwa district when the floods struck the area.

Nepal's army said rescue workers recovered one body from a tunnel at the Upper Trishuli-1 hydropower plant, where the missing Koreans had been working.

"The identity and nationality of the victim have not yet been confirmed. We are checking the information through our diplomatic mission in Nepal," the ministry official said.

The rapid response team is also considering conducting an aerial search in the affected areas jointly with the Nepalese military, as well as deploying drones, he added.

Korea earlier announced $1 million in humanitarian assistance to Nepal through international organizations over the disaster.