UAE search and rescue team begins field operations in flood-hit Nepal

The UAE Search and Rescue Team has begun field operations in Nepal's Rasuwa region to support authorities responding to the devastating floods.

The specialist team is working directly with Nepalese authorities and has deployed search and rescue equipment to affected sites.

It is also using drones for aerial surveys and to produce three-dimensional maps, helping teams assess affected areas, identify search locations and reach communities hit by flooding and landslides.

Hamoud Al Afari, Director of UAE Relief Operations, said the team was coordinating with Nepalese authorities to direct its capabilities towards the areas most in need.

He said the technology available to the team would help accelerate search operations and efforts to locate missing people.

The field operation is being carried out alongside the UAE's ongoing humanitarian response to the disaster.

The UAE has already sent emergency aid to Nepal, including food, shelter supplies and other humanitarian essentials, following a directive from President His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan to provide $10 million in relief assistance.