SINGAPORE, Feb 7 — Singapore will be sending a disaster rescue team to Türkiye, joining other nations around the world in providing assistance to the country after two powerful earthquakes devastated areas of southern Türkiye on Monday (February 6).
Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) on its Facebook page, announced that an Operation Lionheart (OLH) contingent will be sent to assist in the disaster rescue efforts.
“An advance team of 20 SCDF personnel comprising officers from the elite Disaster Assistance and Rescue Team (DART), paramedic specialists, and a doctor is scheduled to be deployed within the next 24 hours,” it said.
Many countries including Malaysia, the US, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Pakistan, and India have rushed their rescue mission teams to Türkiye.
As for Malaysia, it sent a Special Malaysia Disaster Assistance and Rescue Team (Smart) to Türkiye to assist in search and rescue (SAR) efforts to locate victims of the earthquake.
The 70-personnel SMART team which departed for Türkiye late Monday night is comprised of a medical team from the Royal Medical Corps, the Malaysian Fire and Rescue Department’s K9 Unit, and a special team handling hazardous chemical materials.
Two major earthquakes with magnitudes 7.8 and 7.6 struck southern Türkiye on Monday which also affected the neighbouring country of Syria.
It was reported that the earthquakes have claimed the lives of at least 3,419 people in Türkiye so far, while 1,559 people were killed in Syria.
— Bernama
