SINGAPORE – Rescuers from Singapore’s Operation Lionheart found no signs of life after working at eight sites in Myanmar over the last 36 hours, following the devastating 7.7-magnitude earthquake there on March 28.
In a Facebook post on March 31 night, the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) said its 80-strong team worked with Myanmar’s National Disaster Management Office (NDMO) and fire department at seven sites in Naypyitaw and one site in Mandalay.
SCDF added that the NDMO coordinated the rescue efforts, with several international teams, including Singapore’s, working in both the capital Naypyitaw, and Mandalay.
The Singaporeans will continue their search-and-rescue operations in Naypyitaw, said SCDF.
The Operation Lionheart team had on March 30 helped rescue a man trapped under a collapsed three-storey building in the capital.
Comprising the elite Disaster Assistance and Rescue Team, full-time national servicemen doctors, paramedics, search and hazardous materials specialists, and four search canines, the team was deployed to Myanmar on March 29.
Minister for Home Affairs K. Shanmugam noted on March 31 that 48 of the 80 Singaporeans are Muslims and are missing out on spending Hari Raya Aidilfitri with their loved ones.
In separate events on the same day, Mr Shanmugam and Minister for Social and Family Development Masagos Zulkifli thanked the team for their efforts so far.
Mr Shanmugam said: “It is a very noble act to go out there and help other people far away.”
Around 2,000 people have died in Myanmar from the earthquake, which has also affected Thailand, Vietnam and China.
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