S.Korea to send 40-member rescue team to quake-hit Nepal

SEOUL - South Korea's Foreign Ministry said Monday that the country will send an emergency rescue team composed of about 40 members to quake-hit Nepal.

A five-member advance team and part of the emergency rescue team, or 10 members, will be first dispatched to the Himalayan country at about 9 pm local time via a civil aircraft, according to the Foreign Ministry.

The second group of the remaining 30 members would be sent on May 1 based on the reports from the advance team.

The first group will focus on the search and rescue operation, with the second group to be composed of medical workers and rescuers, the ministry said.

South Korea pledged $1 million in its initial humanitarian aid to Nepal, where more than 3,200 people had been killed and about 6,500 others injured in the powerful earthquake that struck the country Saturday.