Singapore Helps With Search and Rescue, and Disaster Recovery Operations in Nepal

Nearly 8,000 people have been killed and thousands injured in the earthquake that shocked Nepal on April 25, 2015. The calamity caused widespread destruction in the Himalayan nation. Singapore mobilized personnel from the ministry of home affairs (Singapore Police Force and Singapore Civil Defense Force), Singapore Armed Forces, and the ministry of health and the Health Sciences Authority for deployment to Nepal. The government contributed money through the Singapore Red Cross to help the Nepalese people. The Singapore foreign ministry has informed that medical supplies have been given to the Singapore Red Cross currently in Nepal to provide medical relief to the local population. The Singapore contingent attended to more than 2,500 injured or sick people in Nepal after this deadly earthquake. The ministry said, "The Singapore contingent comprised 182 officers. Apart from providing consular assistance to Singaporeans stranded in Nepal, its mission included search and rescue and disaster recovery operations, disaster victim identification, provision of field medical assistance and relief to the injured and sick, and to support the Nepalese authorities’ coordination of relief efforts."

Singapore’s air force mobilized its C-130 aircraft to transport personnel, equipment and relief supplies to Nepal, and operated a total of eight flights between Singapore and Nepal. The aircrafts also helped airlift medical personnel from the Royal Brunei Armed Forces and a French member of the UN Disaster Assessment and Coordination Team into Nepal.

The ministry said, "A team from the Changi Regional Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) Coordination Center also worked within Nepal’s Multi-National Military Coordination Center, supporting the Nepalese military to coordinate the relief efforts. The Singapore contingent in Nepal would return home over the coming days as the Nepalese authorities have announced the end of search and rescue operations. Singapore hopes that our assistance will make a tangible difference to the lives of Nepalese survivors during this very difficult period."

Source-Medindia