S. Korea's 2nd Nepal relief team to return; efforts to locate 9 missing Koreans to continue

Seoul announced on September 17 that a second South Korean relief team will return to Nepal to continue the search for nine missing South Korean nationals after the country was hit by massive floods and landslides last month. The decision follows a joint public-private emergency relief council's recommendation. The team, which was part of the Korea Disaster Response Team (KDRT), is scheduled to end its seven-day mission and depart later that day.

The missing individuals include six employees from Doosan Enerbility Co. and three from Korea South-East Power Co., who went missing on August 26 while working at a hydropower plant construction site near the Nepal-Tibet border.

A joint government response team, consisting of eight members from the ministry, National Fire Agency, and National Police Agency, will remain in Nepal to collaborate with Nepalese authorities and support the families of the missing. Three additional police officers from the KDRT contingent will continue working with Nepal's Central Forensic Science Laboratory to aid in identifying victims using rapid DNA analysis devices provided by South Korea.

The previous 44-member KDRT team, dispatched earlier this month, has encountered challenges such as challenging terrain, weather risks, and infectious disease concerns, with no signs of the missing individuals found thus far. Nepal has now shifted its focus to reconstruction and recovery efforts.