Key facts
- South Korea is sending a 44-member disaster relief team to Nepal.
- The team will support search, rescue, and relief efforts following devastating floods.
- Nine South Koreans remain unaccounted for in Nepal.
- The team will depart on a South Korean military transport plane.
- Floods and mudslides in Nepal's Himalayan region have killed over 800 people and left around 3,000 missing.
South Korea was set to dispatch a disaster relief team to Nepal on 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, was scheduled to depart for Nepal aboard a South Korean military transport plane later in the day.
The team will stay in Nepal for about 10 days, conducting search and rescue operations for victims, including nine South Koreans who remain unaccounted for. Earlier, a South Korean government team had started a ground search, and a Doosan Enerbility Co. helicopter joined the effort after receiving clearance. Despite helicopter and drone searches, the missing citizens had not been found.
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.