Ministry of National Defense Republic of Korea

The Republic of Korean Air Force's C-130H cargo plane, which was secondarily deployed to the site of the Indonesian earthquake for humanitarian support on November 9th, safely returned to Seoul Airport following the successful completion of its mission at around 10:00 PM on November 30th.

On November 9th, the Air Force deployed the C-130H carrying about 30 soldiers to Indonesia for its secondary relief mission.

The cargo plane flew 17,623 kilometers from Balikpapan Airport, at which the Republic of Korean Air Force's on-scene command post is located, to Palu Airport near the earthquake-devastated Sulawesi Island (about 338 kilometers) once or twice a day, a total of 26 times, for about 22 days, carrying tents and other relief materials weighing a total of about 247 tons.

In the aftermath of the earthquake and tsunami, conditions in the Palu area are very poor, with infrastructures buried by landslides. International relief groups have been sending relief materials including tents to Balikpapan, which were carried to the Palu residents by the Republic of Korean Air Force and soldiers from Australia and Singapore.

“The Republic of Korean government and Air Force personnel were provided with generous convenience in Palu, and their activities were also applauded by other international relief groups. Palu residents volunteered to load relief materials and the citizens from Balikpapan were active in expressing their thanks, such as by asking to take pictures with them when they met Republic of Korean soldiers in uniform at restaurants or the supermarket,” said Lieutenant Colonel Yim Jung-taek, local coordinator who is in charge of support for Indonesia, working for the Disaster Management and Support Division of the Ministry of National Defense.

“Despite the difficulties involved in delivering relief materials due to the damage to infrastructures in Palu resulting from the earthquake, we were able to carry out the relief mission thanks to our ordinary live environment training. We did our best, hoping that local residents in the damaged area could get back to their daily lives as soon as possible,” said Colonel Shin Jong-cheon, commander of airlift operations for the emergency relief mission in Indonesia.

By Hae-Lin, Jeon <lin597998@dema.mil.kr >

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