PUBLISHED ONSeptember 06, 2026 6:21 AMUPDATEDSeptember 06, 2026 4:39 PMBYSean LerA Disaster Victim Identification contingent from Singapore has arrived in Nepal and begun work on the ground to support local authorities in their disaster relief efforts, the Singapore Police Force said.
Providing its first update since the first batch of 19 officers from the police and Health Sciences Authority set off on Sept 1 and 2, the police said in a Facebook post on Sunday (Sept 6) that the contingent now has 35 members.
In its earlier statement on Sept 2, the police had announced that there are plans to bolster the deployment to 33 officers.
The addition of a further two members is due to the inclusion of two fingerprint experts specialising in fingerprint examination from the Integrated Forensics Service of the Home Team Science and Technology Agency, the police told AsiaOne in response to a query on the additional headcount.
A police spokesperson added that the two officers were deployed on Sept 4.
"The contingent is contributing its expertise in Disaster Victim Identification and aerial surveillance in support of the ongoing relief efforts," police reiterated in its post.
Together with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' Crisis Response Team, the Singapore contingent has met with the Nepal police and the Nepal National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority to further understand the situation on the ground.
Separately, a humanitarian assistance package worth around $560,000 was handed over to Nepal by Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Gan Siow Huang on Friday.
The Singapore government has also contributed US$100,000 (S$127,000) in seed money to the Singapore Red Cross (SRC), while the non-governmental organisation's public fundraising has since crossed the $3 million mark.
Meanwhile, SRC said in a separate statement on Sept 3 that it is pledging an additional $170,000 in humanitarian aid to support its partners' efforts on the ground.
This will go towards water purification powders, water filters, and emergency food supplies.
It is in addition to the $50,000 pledged earlier, that has since been used by the Nepal Red Cross to dispatch emergency supplies.
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