SINGAPORE - An 80-strong force and four search canines from the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) left for Myanmar on March 29 to assist rescue efforts in the quake-battered country.

The Operation Lionheart contingent departed around 1pm, at full strength for the first time since a mission to Turkey in 2023, also for earthquake relief, an SCDF spokesman told The Straits Times.

A 7.7-magnitude earthquake on March 28 has killed at least 1,000 people in Myanmar and injured 2,300 others, with the death toll expected to rise, according to latest reports.

SCDF is answering the military junta's rare call for aid with a force including the elite Disaster Assistance and Rescue Team, fire stations, full-time national servicemen doctors, paramedics and search and hazardous materials specialists, it said in a Facebook post.

The contingent was at the SCDF's headquarters in Ubi on the morning of March 29 for a briefing before it took off on a Singapore Airlines flight, arranged "on short notice".

The team took with them battery-operated urban search and rescue equipment like cutting, breaking and lifting tools, as well as life detection devices and fibre-optic scopes. These will allow them to move swiftly to disaster areas for immediate search and rescue work, said SCDF.

Operation Lionheart chief Tay Zhi Wei said on March 29 that the mission is expected to last up to 14 days, "depending on the situation".

Locating and rescuing survivors is the "primary mission", but the 80-strong force is prepared to "adapt its efforts based on the situation on the ground and the needs of the community", he said.

Minister of State for Home Affairs Faishal Ibrahim was also at SCDF headquarters to thank deployed officers and join their families in sending them off.

Associate Professor Faishal, who is also Minister of State for National Development, told reporters: "I'm confident that they will be able to do the mission well."

He said he was "elated and touched" by the spirit of SCDF officers - who told him they were "ever ready" - and moved by their loved ones, who turned up in force at Ubi, though some were informed only at 1am on March 29.

Another three SCDF officers will also be sent to Myanmar as part of an ASEAN emergency response team, added SCDF.

It thanked Singapore Airlines, ST Logistics and the Sats Singapore Hub team for their rapid assistance in this "major disaster" situation where speed of aid is crucial.

"We wish our Operation Lionheart contingent a safe and successful mission," it said.

The March 28 quake also hit neighbouring Thailand, with tremors felt in Vietnam and China. It was followed by a powerful 6.4-magnitude aftershock and several smaller ones after.

Much of the damage was in Mandalay, the epicentre of the quake and Myanmar's largest city after Yangon, known as a Buddhist heartland.

The Singapore Red Cross also pledged an initial $150,000 in emergency relief support to Myanmar and Thailand on March 29.

The humanitarian group said it would launch a public fund-raising appeal soon.

This article was first published in The Straits Times. Permission required for reproduction.