The first team of South Korea's overseas emergency relief team (KDRT), dispatched to Nepal following severe flooding, will return home on September 11 after completing ten days of search and rescue operations.
According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on September 9, the KDRT team, which was sent on September 1, is scheduled to return to South Korea aboard a KC-330 multi-purpose air refueling transport aircraft. The team has halted its search activities two days before the scheduled end of operations and is preparing to withdraw.
The Nepalese government has shifted its focus from search and rescue to recovery efforts, significantly reducing support such as helicopter assistance. Additionally, with no signs of life detected for nine missing South Koreans two weeks after the floods began on August 26, the government has decided to proceed with the return.
In preparation for the return of the first team, the KC-330 heading to Nepal will carry relief supplies, including blankets, clothing, and tents, donated by civic groups from domestic companies.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs also announced plans to dispatch a second KDRT team to continue search operations. The size and mission of the second team will be finalized soon through a joint public-private overseas emergency relief council.
Separately from the team rotation, the government’s rapid response team and the South Korean embassy in Nepal will closely cooperate with local authorities to support the families of the missing South Koreans.
Meanwhile, families of three missing employees from Korea South-East Power expressed their opposition to the withdrawal of the KDRT first team. They held a press conference in Kathmandu, urging the government to halt the unilateral termination of search operations and the early return of the team.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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