The Korea Disaster Relief Team (KDRT) departed for Nepal today (September 2) to support search and rescue operations at the site of severe flooding in the country.

According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, a Republic of Korea Air Force KC-330 Cygnus multi-role tanker transport carrying the KDRT members took off from Seoul Air Base in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, at around midnight today and headed to Kathmandu, Nepal.

The KDRT consists of a total of 44 members, including 3 from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs led by Director-General for Development Cooperation Lee Kyu-ho, 4 from the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA), and 37 from the National Fire Agency.

The transport aircraft is also carrying 5 search dogs, high-resolution drones, acoustic and visual detectors for buried victims, thermal imaging cameras, submersible pumps, swift-water rescue equipment, and tree and debris removal tools.

On the previous day, Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Kim Jin-ah encouraged the KDRT members gathered at Seoul Air Base and urged them to ensure their personal safety while carrying out their search and rescue missions.

Upon arriving in Kathmandu on the morning of September 2, local time, the KDRT plans to finalize specific operational plans in consultation with the Nepalese government and the government's joint rapid response team.

The team plans to conduct search and rescue operations for about 10 days, focusing on the area where nine South Koreans are presumed missing. The operation period may be extended depending on local conditions.

Following a major flood in the Rasuwa district of Nepal on August 26, the government dispatched a joint rapid response team to the site, which has been conducting helicopter, drone, and land searches.

The joint response team conducted joint searches with the Nepalese army around the accident area on the previous day, but was unable to confirm any specific updates regarding the whereabouts of the nine missing South Koreans.

With the arrival of the KDRT, search and rescue operations are expected to be significantly bolstered through the deployment of additional professional personnel and specialized equipment.

The KDRT is a government-led relief team composed of personnel from various government ministries and affiliated agencies, organized to support disaster-stricken countries with disaster relief, rescue operations, and medical assistance in the event of large-scale overseas disasters.

First dispatched during the 2008 Sichuan earthquake in China, the team has been deployed 11 times up until the Canadian wildfires in 2023, making this the 12th dispatch.