Lee orders government to review dispatching additional personnel, aide to Nepal
South Korea will dispatch a 44-member disaster relief team to flood-hit Nepal to support search and rescue operations, including efforts to locate nine South Koreans who remain missing, after the Nepali government formally requested Seoul's assistance, the Foreign Ministry said Tuesday.
The government approved the deployment of the Korea Disaster Relief Team following a decision by the public-private Overseas Emergency Relief Council, an interagency body comprising government agencies and relevant private-sector organizations that oversees South Korea's emergency relief response to major overseas disasters.
The move comes a week after massive floods struck Nepal's northern Rasuwa district on Aug. 26, leaving nine South Koreans — six employees of Doosan Enerbility and three from Korea South-East Power — missing while working at the Upper Trishuli-1 Hydropower Project.
Seoul had been preparing for a possible KDRT deployment but had been awaiting a request from Nepali authorities, which had largely relied on their own military and police for search and rescue operations.
The 44-member team will be led by Lee Kyoo-ho, director general for development cooperation at the Foreign Ministry, and consist of three ministry officials, four personnel from the Korea International Cooperation Agency and 37 members of the National Fire Agency. Five search and rescue dogs will accompany the team.
The KDRT is scheduled to depart for Kathmandu late Tuesday night aboard a South Korean Air Force KC-330 Cygnus multirole aerial tanker and transport aircraft.
During its approximately 10-day mission, the team will work closely with Nepali authorities to conduct search and rescue operations for victims of the floods, including the missing South Koreans.
The KDRT will operate separately from a government rapid response team already on the ground in Nepal, which has been supporting efforts to locate the nine since last week.
President Lee Jae Myung on Tuesday called on relevant agencies to make every effort to expedite the search, including by deploying additional personnel and equipment if possible.
"Based on close cooperation with the Nepali government and company officials, please make every effort to ensure the search is carried out as swiftly as possible," Lee said during a Cabinet meeting.
"If possible, I ask that you actively pursue the deployment of additional available resources, including rescue personnel and helicopters," he added, noting that the Nepali government had now requested South Korea's assistance.
Lee also urged officials to pay particular attention to the safety of rescue personnel, citing difficult conditions on the ground, including the risk of further flooding and severe weather.
"I hope for the swift and safe return of those who are missing, and I would also like to thank the members of the rapid response team who are doing their utmost despite the difficult conditions," he said.
The rapid response team is meanwhile seeking to conduct joint aerial searches with the Nepali military.
"The National Fire Agency is considering conducting a joint aerial search with the Nepali military, while the use of drones is also under consideration," a Foreign Ministry official, requesting anonymity, told reporters.
On Monday, helicopter searches were conducted around an upstream dam near the disaster site, while ground teams searched the Ramche and Dhunche areas, but the operations produced no significant results, according to the ministry.
Separately, a body has been recovered from a tunnel at the Upper Trishuli-1 Hydropower Project, where the missing South Koreans had been working, but identity and nationality have yet to be determined.
Citing the Nepali military, Agence France-Presse reported Monday that a Chinese tunnel rescue team entered about 300 meters into the tunnel and discovered the body during a search.
"Our embassy in Nepal is working to verify the identity of the body," the Foreign Ministry official said.
The KDRT is a government-led emergency relief unit comprising personnel from government ministries and related agencies that can be deployed following major overseas disasters to conduct search and rescue operations, provide medical assistance and carry out other relief activities. Its deployment is decided by the public-private Overseas Emergency Relief Council under South Korea's Overseas Emergency Relief Act.
The Nepal mission will mark the KDRT's 12th overseas deployment. South Korea previously sent teams in response to major disasters, including the 2023 earthquake in Turkey, the 2018 dam collapse in Laos and the 2015 Nepal earthquake.
Seoul also announced $1 million in humanitarian assistance on Thursday to support Nepal's flood response through international organizations operating in the country.
Lee on Tuesday instructed the government to expedite humanitarian assistance for Nepal, while the Foreign Ministry said Seoul would continue coordinating with Kathmandu to identify additional assistance needed on the ground.
mkjung@heraldcorp.com
