South Korea to Send Second Relief Team to Nepal for Recovery Efforts

By Oh Seok-min

SEOUL, Sept. 10 (Yonhap) -- South Korea will send its second overseas emergency relief team to Nepal this week to support the country's shift of its focus from search and rescue to recovery following devastating floods, Seoul's foreign ministry said Thursday.

The eight-member Korea Disaster Relief Team (KDRT) will depart aboard a KC-330 military transport aircraft and arrive in Nepal on Friday, consisting of officials from the ministry, firefighters, Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) personnel and medical staff, according to the ministry.

The team will focus mainly on reconstruction and recovery operations during its seven-day mission, it added.

Nine Koreans -- six employees of Doosan Enerbility Co. and three of Korea South-East Power Co. -- went missing Aug. 26 after massive floods and landslides hit Rasuwa District near the Nepal-Tibet border while they were working at a hydropower plant construction site.

"Nepal has decided to shift its operations from search and rescue to reconstruction and recovery and has asked us to support recovery efforts in the affected areas," ministry spokesperson Park Doo-soon said at a press briefing.

The first 44-member contingent of the KDRT, which was dispatched to Nepal last week, will return home after wrapping up its 10-day search-and-rescue mission.

The KDRT, in cooperation with local authorities and corporate response teams, has conducted intensive searches using drones, helicopters and other advanced equipment, but no signs of the missing people have been found.

"The assessment of search-and-rescue operations found significant constraints due to rugged terrain, weather-related risks and the potential for infectious diseases," a ministry official said.

"Despite difficulties, we will continue search-and-rescue efforts in cooperation with our rapid response team, the South Korean Embassy in Nepal and corporate teams," he added.

The KDRT will also deliver about 4 tons of relief supplies worth 180 million won (US$134,208) to the Nepalese side. The supplies were donated by South Korean companies and collected by a South Korean nongovernmental organization, the ministry said.

Families of three missing Korea South-East Power employees opposed the planned conclusion of the first KDRT team's mission, urging authorities to continue ground searches in areas where they believe the workers may have evacuated.

President Lee Jae Myung has instructed officials to listen carefully to the families' opinions and review necessary measures to reflect their wishes as much as possible, according to the presidential office.

"The government understands how anxious and frustrated the families must be. We will listen to their concerns and review measures to respect and reflect their wishes," Park said.

As of Thursday, more than 1,400 people had been killed and over 5,600 remained missing following the disaster, according to foreign media reports.