South Korea will send a second team of the Korea Disaster Relief Team (KDRT) to Nepal, which has been affected by severe flooding, on September 11. However, the size of this team is significantly smaller than the first team, which will return home the same day with 44 members. The duration of the second team's mission is also shorter, reduced from 10 days to 7 days.
Park Doo-soon, spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, stated during a regular briefing at the ministry's office in Jongno-gu, Seoul, that the second team will consist of 8 members who will operate in Nepal for 7 days. According to officials, the team will include 2 members each from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the National Fire Agency, the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA), and a medical team.
Park added, "The team will be composed of a small number of search and rescue personnel along with a reconstruction team, and we will closely coordinate with the Nepali authorities to carry out reconstruction and relief activities as well as emergency response operations on the ground."
Regarding complaints from families of missing persons in Nepal about the KDRT's search efforts, Park said, "The government takes this matter seriously," but emphasized that it has mobilized all available resources for search and rescue operations. He noted, however, that the challenging mountainous terrain, unstable ground conditions, and unpredictable weather have posed significant constraints, necessitating careful consideration of the safety of the team members.
Meanwhile, the KDRT has successfully rescued one Chinese survivor 10 days after the flooding, but the search for 9 missing South Koreans continues.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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