Korean Disaster Relief Team and Equipment to Return from Nepal...Second Team to Be Dispatched

The Korea Disaster Relief Team (KDRT), which was dispatched to Nepal on September 2 to search for those missing in the recent floods, will return to Korea after completing its 10-day mission. Some equipment will also be withdrawn with the team. On September 10, the government announced that an eight-member second KDRT team would be sent to Nepal.

On the 8th, members of the Korea Disaster Relief Team (KDRT) were preparing for drone search operations in the Upper Trishuli-1 (UT-1) and powerhouse areas of the Lasuwa region in Nepal. September 8, 2026. [Provided by the Korea Disaster Relief Team (KDRT). Resale and database prohibited] Photo by Yonhap News Agency, photo@yna.co.kr

Doosoon Park, spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, held a regular briefing at the Seoul Government Complex on this day and stated, "The second KDRT team will be formed as a reconstruction and recovery unit, accompanied by a small number of search and rescue personnel, and is scheduled to arrive in Nepal tomorrow via the military transport aircraft KC-330." He added, "The team consists of eight people, including officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, firefighters, representatives from the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA), and medical staff, and will operate in Nepal for seven days."

The second team plans to depart from Gimhae Airport at approximately 2:55 a.m. on September 11 aboard the military transport aircraft Cygnus (KC-330), and arrive in Nepal at around 9:00 a.m. local time. The group will also deliver about 4 tons of relief supplies, worth approximately 180 million won, donated by a Korean company via a domestic non-governmental organization (NGO), to the Nepalese side. The relief goods include tents, winter clothing, and blankets.

Unlike the first KDRT team, which was mainly composed of search and rescue personnel, the second team is focused on reconstruction and recovery. The number of personnel has been drastically reduced from 44 to 8, and the mission duration has been shortened from 10 days to 7. A Ministry of Foreign Affairs official explained, "There are no special pieces of equipment being brought by the second team, and the equipment carried by the first team will be returned to Korea on the same flight as the team members."

However, as some families of the nine missing Korean nationals are still requesting additional search and rescue efforts, there is a possibility of further coordination on-site. Regarding this, the Office of the President stated, "President Jaemyung Lee has been briefed on the difficulties faced by the families of missing Korean nationals in Nepal, has listened carefully and respectfully to their wishes, and has instructed a review of necessary measures so that, as much as possible, the wishes of the families can be reflected."

Earlier, Prime Minister Seongsook Han also said at an emergency economic review meeting this morning, "Our government will do its utmost until the very end, cooperating closely with the Nepalese government in the search and rescue of the missing individuals."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.