SAF, SCDF teams deployed to fight forest fires in Indonesia

SAF, SCDF teams deployed to fight forest fires in Indonesia

Personnel from the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) and Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) have been deployed on Saturday afternoon (Oct 10) to help fight forest fires in Sumatra.

This follows Indonesia's acceptance of foreign assistance to combat the haze that has plagued the region for the past two months.

A Ministry of Defence (MINDEF) statement said that it has deployed 34 SAF personnel and a Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) Chinook helicopter to Sumatra.

They are accompanied by a six-man Disaster Assistance and Rescue Team (DART) from the SCDF as well as a 5000-litre heli-bucket.

[[nid:229032]]

The teams, along with their equipment, set off for Sumatra at about 12.30pm. They were transported by two RSAF C-130 aircrafts.

The Chief of Air Force Major-General Hoo Cher Mou, and SCDF Commissioner Eric Yap were also at the Sembawang Air Base to send off their teams.

 

<<RSAF & SCDF Teams Head for Indonesia>>Indonesian authorities provided clearance last night. This morning a Chinook...

Posted by Ng Eng Hen on Friday, October 9, 2015

Meanwhile, Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen wrote in a Facebook post on Saturday afternoon that the Singapore team was provided clearance by Indonesian authorities on Friday night.

He also said: "Our best wishes go with them and we hope that they will return safe and sound."

minlee@sph.com.sg

[[nid:223254]]

This website is best viewed using the latest versions of web browsers.