MDA rescue team heads to Nepal
MDA rescue team heads to NepalMagen David Adom

The Commander of the IDF's delegation to Nepal, Col. Yoram Laredo, spoke shortly before takeoff Sunday informing the Israel public that rescue efforts are underway. 

"Our first task is to put effort into finding and saving lives," he said. "The second task is to set up a field hospital to help people who are trapped; the third, to help find Israelis who are unaccounted for." Some 250 Israeli citizens are still missing. 

The delegation is taking 95.1 tons of equipment with them on two El-Al Boeing 747 planes, one charter and one passenger jet. 

The field hospital will have, among other things, an X-ray room, operating rooms and rooms for child care. The goal: to treat 200 victims per day. 

Forty doctors, nurses, and medical personnel will be flying out Sunday night. 

Earlier Sunday, an IDF delegation landed in Kathmandu, after a devastating earthquake Saturday is now estimated to have killed 1,900 people. 

The first delegation includes six medical experts, the Spokesperson's Office announced, as well as a rescue team from the Home Front Command, a team from the IDF Medical Corps, and a representative from the Foreign Ministry. 

The quake, which ranked 7.8 on the Richter scale, is Nepal's worst in 81 years. Some 4,700 people have reportedly been injured.