48 Muslim officers from the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) are missing Hari Raya Aidilfitri celebrations with their families as they provide rescue and relief in Myanmar. They make up more than half of the 80-member SCDF contingent responding to the earthquake aftermath.
Minister for Home Affairs and Law K Shanmugam shared this information during a Hari Raya event at Masjid Ahmad Ibrahim in Seletar on March 31, 2025.
“They are there working day and night,” Shanmugam said. “They were planning for their Hari Raya to be with their loved ones, their family. So now, when duty called, they stepped up.”
The SCDF team left Changi Airport at 1:20 PM on March 29 after Myanmar requested humanitarian assistance following a 7.7-magnitude earthquake on March 28.
The death toll has exceeded 1,700 and is still rising.
Shanmugam thanked the officers and their families for their sacrifice, calling their actions “a very noble act to go out there and help other people far away.”
The Operation Lionheart team has already rescued a man trapped in a partially collapsed three-story building.
In a Facebook post on March 30, SCDF described how the team joined local firefighters from the Naypyidaw Fire Service Department to access the building through a narrow passage.
The rescue team kept in touch with the conscious victim and gave him water through a plastic tube inserted between concrete slabs.
The man was successfully rescued around 11:00 AM Singapore time. An SCDF paramedic confirmed he was stable before he was taken to a local hospital.
The 80-person contingent includes specialists from the 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.
Senior Minister Lee Hsien Loong noted in a March 31 Facebook post that the SCDF team was among the first international rescue teams to arrive in Myanmar.
“For those away from loved ones during this festive period, thank you for your service and sacrifice. You are flying our flag high, and we are proud of you,” he wrote.
Prime Minister Lawrence Wong also thanked the SCDF servicemen in a March 29 Facebook post, acknowledging some would miss Hari Raya celebrations with their families. “Wishing them a safe and successful mission,” he added.
Shanmugam extended his good wishes to residents in Singapore for the festive period, adding: “At the same time, we think of the many people around the world who are dying, being killed unlawfully in wars, and also natural disasters.”
