48 Muslim SCDF Officers Miss Hari Raya While Rescuing Myanmar Earthquake Victims

By
Loh Huey Xin
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48 Muslim Officers Among Singapore’s Contingent Miss Festivities to Assist Quake Victims

48 of the 80 Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) officers currently providing rescue and relief efforts in Myanmar are Muslim, missing Hari Raya Aidilfitri celebrations with their families as they respond to the aftermath of a devastating earthquake.

Minister for Home Affairs and Law K Shanmugam highlighted this fact during a Hari Raya engagement at Masjid Ahmad Ibrahim in Seletar on 31 Mar 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.”

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The SCDF contingent departed from Changi Airport at 1:20 PM on 29 Mar in response to a request for humanitarian assistance following the 7.7-magnitude earthquake that struck Myanmar on 28 Mar.

The death toll has surpassed 1,700 and continues to rise.

Shanmugam thanked both the officers and their families for their sacrifice during this festive period, describing their actions as “a very noble act to go out there and help other people far away.”

Operation Lionheart Rescue Efforts Already Saving Lives in Myanmar

The SCDF team, part of Operation Lionheart, has already achieved success in their mission.

They participated in an eight-hour joint rescue operation with the local fire department, successfully freeing a man trapped in a semi-collapsed three-storey residential building.


In a Facebook post on 30 Mar, SCDF detailed how the team responded to a call for assistance at a collapsed building along Ngu Wag Road in Naypyidaw.

Working alongside local rescuers from the Naypyidaw Fire Service Department, they gained access to the building through a narrow passage to reach the man trapped underneath concrete slabs.

Throughout the operation, the rescue team maintained contact with the conscious victim and provided water through a plastic tube inserted through crevices between the concrete slabs.

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At approximately 11.00 AM Singapore time, the man was successfully rescued. An SCDF paramedic assessed him to be stable and conscious before he was taken to a local hospital.

The 80-member contingent includes specialists 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.

Senior Minister Lee Hsien Loong noted in a Facebook post on 31 Mar 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 expressed gratitude to the SCDF servicemen in a Facebook post on 29 Mar, acknowledging that some would be foregoing their Hari Raya celebrations with their families. “Wishing them a safe and successful mission,” he added.

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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.”

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Loh Huey Xin