Turkiye Relief Team to Arrive Locally Today

Emergency Relief Team of 110 Departs on the 7th via Air Refueling Aircraft

[Asia Economy Yang Nak-gyu, Military Specialist Reporter] The Republic of Korea Emergency Relief Team (KDRT), consisting of approximately 110 personnel, is expected to arrive in Turkey on the 8th, following the massive casualties caused by the earthquake.

A military official stated on the same day, "The multi-purpose aerial refueling transport aircraft KC-330 took off from Gimhae Base on the 7th and flew to Incheon Airport, the final departure point of the Air Force's multi-purpose aerial refueling transport aircraft KC-330, to swiftly send Korean emergency relief personnel and medical supplies to Turkey."

Previously, the government dispatched the Republic of Korea Emergency Relief Team to the 2013 Philippines typhoon disaster, the 2015 Nepal earthquake, and the 2018 Laos Xe Pian-Xe Namnoy dam accident.

During the 2013 Philippines typhoon disaster, a total of 127 personnel were dispatched across four waves, but in terms of a single dispatch scale, this Turkey emergency relief team is the largest. Compared to European countries geographically close to Turkey, whose dispatch sizes are known to be around 60 to 80 personnel, this is a significantly large number.

The Korean emergency relief team will determine their operational areas and missions through consultations with other countries' emergency relief teams deployed locally and the United Nations, and plans to closely cooperate with the Turkish government and the international community, the government said.

Accordingly, the Ministry of National Defense has dispatched about 50 personnel from the Army Special Warfare Command on the KC-330 multi-purpose transport aircraft to Turkey to carry out search and rescue and medical personnel duties. Considering the low temperatures on site and the urgent need to find missing persons buried under debris as quickly as possible, the team has been organized with a focus on search and rescue.