South Korea dispatches 44-member emergency relief team to flood-hit Nepal

The South Korean government will deploy the Korea Disaster Relief Team (KDRT) in response to flood damage in Nepal's Rasuwa region.

The government decided Tuesday to send the relief team to flood-affected areas of Nepal after the joint public-private Overseas Emergency Relief Council approved the dispatch. The decision follows a formal request from the Nepalese government for search-and-rescue support amid the widening damage caused by flooding that struck the Rasuwa region on Aug. 26.

The 44-member team will be led by Lee Kyu-ho, director general for development cooperation at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and draws personnel from the ministry, the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) and the National Fire Agency. The team is set to depart for Nepal on Tuesday night aboard a South Korean military transport aircraft.

The team plans to remain in Nepal for about 10 days, working closely with the Nepalese government to conduct search-and-rescue operations for victims, including South Korean nationals who have been out of contact.

Earlier, the government decided on Aug. 27 to provide $1 million in humanitarian aid through international organizations operating in Nepal. The government said it will continue to communicate with Nepalese authorities and actively seek additional ways to provide support as needed.

The KDRT is a government-led organization dispatched in response to large-scale overseas disasters to provide disaster relief, search-and-rescue, and medical assistance to affected countries. Its deployment is decided by the joint public-private Overseas Emergency Relief Council under the Act on Overseas Emergency Relief.