KUALA LUMPUR: Hot weather reaching up to 41 degrees Celsius and the dusty conditions are among the main challenges for the Special Malaysia Disaster Assistance and Rescue Team (SMART) which is currently carrying out a mission in the earthquake-hit Sagaing district, Myanmar.
Apart from that, SMART Training Unit head , Senior Fire Superintendent II Mohamad Hafiezul Abdul Halim said the unstable communication network is also a test for them to carry out the search and rescue mission.
“Furthermore, the condition of the collapsed building is severe, so we also need the best way to enter and take out each victim. However, we are giving our best,“ he said, who is currently still in Myanmar.
He said this during a live broadcast on Bernama TV’s Ruang Bicara programme tonight.
According to Mohamad Hafiezul, apart from receiving excellent cooperation from the local authorities in Myanmar, the SMART team has also received appreciation from residents in the affected areas.
“From morning to evening, the Base of Operations will receive visitors from the surrounding residents who will give them drinking water and come to say thank you.
“It’s the same at the work site, if we ask everyone to cooperate, everything is okay. Sometimes they would come to give them drinking water and ask if they need help,“ he said.
A total of 50 SMART members left for Naypyidaw, Myanmar last Sunday on a humanitarian mission to assist in the SAR operation for earthquake victims in the country.
So far, they have managed to extricate seven victims, including one who was still alive under the rubble of the earthquake.
A 7.7-magnitude earthquake hit Myanmar last Friday with Mandalay, Bago, Magway, northeastern Shan State, Sagaing and Naypyidaw among the worst-affected areas, while neighbouring Thailand was also affected.
