South Korean disaster relief team arrives in Nepal to assist in search for missing nationals

SEOUL, Sept. 2 (Yonhap) -- A South Korean disaster relief team arrived in Nepal on Wednesday to help bolster the ongoing intensive search for nine South Koreans and other victims missing in massive floods and landslides, the foreign ministry said.

The 44-member Korea Disaster Relief Team (KDRT), comprising personnel from the ministry, the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) and fire authorities, arrived in Kathmandu earlier in the day aboard an Air Force KC-330 Cygnus multirole tanker transport aircraft, according to the ministry.

"The team plans to conduct search-and-rescue operations in cooperation with Nepali authorities and our dispatched government emergency response team," a ministry official said.

"Its deployment is scheduled to last about 10 days but may be extended depending on conditions at the site," he added.

The KDRT brought five rescue dogs and various types of advanced equipment, including high-resolution drones, devices for detecting buried victims through sound and video and thermal imaging detectors.

The nine South Koreans went missing after massive floods hit Nepal's Rasuwa district on Aug. 26 while they were working at the Upper Trishuli-1 (UT-1) hydropower plant construction site. Six were employees of Doosan Enerbility Co. and three of Korea South-East Power Co.

The emergency response team, along with corporate teams, has been mobilizing helicopters, drones, search dogs and other available means to search for signs of survivors despite the extensive search area, rugged terrain and debris and mud hampering movement.

Rescue workers have reached Dhunche in Rasuwa district, one of the areas hardest hit by the floods, to comb through the affected site. Dhunche is about 2 kilometers from the weir, the upper dam of the UT-1 hydropower plant.

"The response team will remain in Dhunche and continue conducting joint helicopter, drone and ground searches with the Nepalese military today," another ministry official said.

"We are also consulting with the Nepalese authorities on such options as tracking the missing persons' mobile phone locations. We are gathering information on the locations where the missing people are believed to be, while speaking with Nepalese survivors and local officials," he added.

The foreign ministry told lawmakers that it sent DNA testing equipment at the request of Nepal's government.

As part of providing relief materials, South Korea will send about 38,000 blankets to Nepal, according to the ministry.

Doosan Enerbility has also been conducting helicopter searches while using high-performance drones. The company plans to conduct a detailed analysis of video footage recorded during aerial searches.

Korea South-East Power has been using drones and search-and-rescue dogs and is considering sending additional personnel to support operations at the site, company officials said.

As of Tuesday, more than 1,000 people had been killed and nearly 4,500 remained missing following the disaster, according to foreign media reports.