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Earthquake in Myanmar, March 2025

In response to the request for humanitarian assistance in the aftermath of an earthquake in Myanmar on 28 March, SCDF deployed the Operation Lionheart (OLH) contingent to assist in disaster rescue efforts. The contingent departed from Changi Airport on the early afternoon of 29 March.

Led by Team Leader, COL Tay Zhi Wei (Commander 1st SCDF Division), the 80-member OLH contingent comprised rescuers from DART, Operationally Ready National Servicemen, full-time National Servicemen medical doctors, paramedics, search specialists with four canines, hazardous materials specialists, and support officers.

Prior to the contingent's departure, Associate Professor Muhammad Faishal Ibrahim, Minister of State, Ministry of Home Affairs and Ministry of National Development met with the contingent at HQ SCDF to express his appreciation to the officers and see them off.

The contingent arrived in Yangon at 4pm on 29 March and travelled to Naypyidaw, Myanmar, via a domestic flight on Myanmar Airways International. Soon after their arrival in Naypyidaw, the contingent commenced search and rescue operations in Zebuthiri Township. Based on information from the local authorities that a man was trapped in a semi-collapsed three-storey residential building, the team quickly responded to the location. The SCDF officers worked with the Myanmar Fire Services Department to gain access into the collapsed structure to reach the man trapped underneath the concrete slabs. Throughout the operation, the team maintained contact with the man and provided water to him through a plastic tube inserted through the crevices between concrete slabs. Cutting and breaking equipment were used to break through the concrete slabs and the man was rescued after an 8-hour rescue operation. An SCDF paramedic assessed the man to be stable and conscious, before he was conveyed to a local hospital.