The Singapore Civil Defence Force deployed a 20-man team to assist in the rescue efforts in Turkey following an earthquake that killed almost 5,000 people.
The SCDF said in a statement that they managed to rescue a boy from a collapsed three-storey building, with help from the local and Spanish rescue teams.
SCDF’s statement
[Update 3: Boy Rescued from a Collapsed Building in Dulkadiroğlu]
The advance team of 20 SCDF officers from the Operation Lionheart (OLH) contingent landed in Adana yesterday and headed to Dulkadiroğlu, Kahramanmaraş, Türkiye to begin search and rescue operations.
In the course of the search and rescue operations amidst the cold weather (about 2℃), a boy was found in a collapsed 3-storey building.
SCDF worked together with the local rescue team and a rescue team from Spain to rescue the boy. The Spanish rescue team used their search canine to pinpoint the location of the boy and SCDF used a fibre-optic scope to confirm the visuals of the boy.
All three rescue teams used their cutting and breaking equipment to create an access through the rubble to reach the boy. The boy was rescued from a bedroom in the collapsed building at about 11:45 p.m. yesterday (9 Feb, 4:45 a.m., Singapore time) in a 3-hour rescue operation.
Second team sent it
[Update 2: SCDF Prepares to Deploy Second Team to Türkiye]
An additional 48 SCDF personnel have started preparations for deployment to Türkiye to augment the 20-member advance team. These personnel are expected to leave Singapore within the next 48 hours.
Led by Contingent Commander COL Chew Keng Tok, the entire 68-member contingent will comprise officers from the elite Disaster Assistance and Rescue Team (DART), operations officers, medical doctors, paramedics, search specialists with four canines, hazardous materials assessment officers and support officers.
With the 68 personnel complement, this will give the Operation Lionheart (OLH) contingent greater scope, scale and capacity to carry out more sustained and prolonged Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) operations within affected areas.
This is the 20th OLH overseas deployment since 1990.