SCDF contingent in Myanmar rescues man trapped in semi-collapsed building after 8-hour operation

After an 8-hour joint-rescue operation with the local fire department, the Singapore Civil Defence Force's (SDCF) Operation Lionheart contingent in Myanmar helped rescue a man who was trapped in a semi-collapsed three-storey residential building.

In a Facebook post on Mar. 30, SCDF stated that the team responded to a call for assistance at a collapsed building along Ngu Wag Road in Naypyidaw; local authorities had found a man trapped in the structure.

SCDF worked with local rescuers from the Naypyidaw Fire Service Department and gained access to the semi-collapsed building through a narrow passage to rescue the man trapped underneath the concrete slabs.

Fortunately, the man was conscious and could communicate with the rescue team.

Throughout the operation, the team kept in contact with the man and water was provided through a plastic tube inserted through the crevices between the concrete slabs.

At around 11 am (Singapore time), the man was successfully rescued, and an SCDF paramedic assessed him to be stable and conscious before conveying him to a local hospital.

What is Operation Lionheart?

An 80-member contingent has been deployed to Myanmar in response to a request for humanitarian assistance.

The contingent includes rescuers from the elite Disaster Assistance and Rescue Team (DART), operationally-ready National Servicemen (NSmen), full-time NSmen medical doctors, paramedics, search specialists with four dogs, hazardous materials specialists, and support officers.

They departed from Changi Airport at 1:20pm on Mar. 29.

Prior to their departure, the contingent was equipped with a range of portable urban search and rescue equipment.

These included life detection devices, lifting equipment, medical supplies, field rations, and tentage.

Death toll

An earthquake struck central Myanmar on Mar. 28, collapsing buildings and destroying a historic bridge.

The  7.7-magnitude earthquake was the largest quake to hit Myanmar in more than a century, reported CNN.

More than 1,600 people have been killed and thousands more injured, BBC reported.

Tremors were felt as far away as Bangkok, where at least nine people have died and 49 remain missing.

Bangkok has since been declared a disaster area by the Thai government.

As search and rescue efforts continue, aftershocks continue to shake Myanmar, the strongest so far, measuring at a magnitude of 6.7.

These aftershocks could continue for months, a geologist told CNN.

In total, the death toll in Myanmar could exceed 10,000, according to predictive modelling by the U.S. Geological Service.

Singaporeans are advised to defer all travel to Myanmar in the meantime, said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

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Top photo via SCDF/Facebook