‘We won’t give up’: SCDF rescuers recall saving quake victim trapped under collapsed building

SINGAPORE – When rescuers from Singapore’s Operation Lionheart arrived in Myanmar one day after a massive earthquake struck the country, they were stunned to see long stretches of buildings flattened by the temblor.

At site after site, the team of 80 kept their composure and searched under piles of rubble for any hope of life. The death toll in Myanmar from the devastating 7.7-magnitude quake on March 28 now

stands at nearly 3,000.

The long hours they pulled were not in vain.

On March 30, from under a collapsed three-storey building at their second search site in Naypyitaw, the team helped

pull out a man alive

after eight hours of trying.

The man was assessed by a paramedic from the Singapore Civil Defence Force to be in a stable condition and taken to hospital.

The rescue was a morale booster.

“We knew that it will be a long and arduous task... but when there are casualties to be saved, we will definitely not let them down, and we will not give up,” Colonel Tay Zhi Wei, 41, who is leading the team in Myanmar, said in a video call on April 1 with Singapore media to give an update on the rescue efforts.

As at April 1, the contingent – comprising the elite Disaster Assistance and Rescue Team, full-time national servicemen doctors, paramedics, search and hazardous materials specialists and four search dogs – has scoured a total of 13 sites, covering locations that include a hospital and the Naypyitaw airport.

Their mission is expected to last up to 14 days, said Col Tay, adding that Myanmar’s fire service department has informed them that there are still several sites to be searched.

Despite the scorching weather in Naypyitaw, where temperatures can go up to 41 deg C, the team’s morale is “extremely high” after their first rescue on March 30, said Col Tay.

To handle the sweltering heat, the team members came up with a work-rest cycle to keep themselves going for prolonged operations.

For deputy team leader Raizan Abdul Razak, 48, being away from family during Hari Raya Aidilfitri has been tough.

“We video-call daily over WhatsApp, but it’s not the same. I look forward to going back home, eating ketupat and rendang, hugging my wife, kids, and my father and mother,” said Colonel Raizan, an operationally ready national serviceman who works in the Education Ministry.

He said that the

48 Muslim members

who missed out on spending Hari Raya Aidilfitri on March 31 with their loved ones had been fasting even after reaching Myanmar.

The Muslim members spent Hari Raya Aidilfitri with morning prayers, and searching four sites and a hospital till night-time.

“It is not easy being deployed during Hari Raya, but we saved one life here in Myanmar. It gives me hope that we were helpful and that we can save more lives,” he said.

Although the 72-hour “golden window” after the disaster – during which chances of survival are high – has passed, Col Tay said the team remains focused, buoyed by news of a 63-year-old woman being saved by Myanmar’s fire department from under rubble on April 1.

“As long as there’s a slim chance of survival, a minute chance for survival, we’ll be here to lend our hand,” said Col Tay.