South Korea deploys disaster relief team to Nepal after floods
Quick Look
- South Korea is sending a 44-member disaster relief team to Nepal to assist with search and rescue operations following devastating floods that killed over 800 people and left around 3,000 missing.
- The team includes personnel from the foreign ministry, KOICA, fire authorities and other agencies, and will depart via military transport plane.
- Nine South Koreans remain unaccounted for after being caught in the floods while working at a hydroelectric plant construction site in Rasuwa district.
AI-generated summary
Why It Matters
The 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.
SEOUL, Sept. 1 (Yonhap) -- A South Korean disaster relief team was set to leave for Nepal late Tuesday to support search, rescue and other relief efforts following 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, will depart for Nepal aboard a South Korean military transport plane later in the day, according to the foreign ministry.
The team will stay in Nepal for about 10 days, conducting search and rescue operations for victims, including the nine South Koreans who remain unaccounted for, it added.
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 KDRT is a statutory emergency response unit deployed to provide disaster relief, search and rescue, medical assistance and other support overseas.
"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," the ministry said in a release.
"We will continue to coordinate with the Nepali government and actively explore ways to provide assistance needed on the ground," it added.
The government sent a separate rapid response team to Nepal last week, which has been conducting ground and aerial searches for the nine missing South 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.
South Korea earlier announced US$1 million in humanitarian assistance to Nepal through international organizations over the disaster.
What to Watch
AI outlook โ possibilities, not facts
The South Korean disaster relief team will conduct search and rescue operations in Nepal for approximately 10 days.
Very likely ยท Within days
South Korea will continue to coordinate with the Nepali government to explore additional assistance needed on the ground.
Likely ยท Within weeks
Open Questions
- What is the current status of the nine missing South Koreans?
- How effective have the ground and aerial searches been so far?
- What specific challenges are rescuers facing in the Rasuwa district?
