Finland to dispatch rescue team to earthquake-hit Nepal

Finnish Ministry of Interior will send a rescue team to Nepal to assist post-earthquake searching and rescue works there, reported Finnish News Agency STT on Sunday.

In addition to firefighters, the 29-member rescue team also includes one doctor and two dog trainers, Esa Ahlberg, a training director from Kuopio-based Crisis Center in eastern Finland, told STT.

Ahlberg said that the team is departing early Monday morning directly from Kuopio to Nepal. The task of the team, which will last for about 10 days, is to search people who were buried in rubble and give immediate medical assistance to the injured.

The Finnish rescue team is part of the European Union's civil rescue assistance, based on the request made by the Nepalese authorities on Saturday.

The United Nations is responsible to coordinate rescue teams working in cooperation with the emergency services of Nepal.

A 7.9-magnitude earthquake struck Nepal on Saturday, destroying numerous buildings and leaving more than 2,000 people dead.