1.         The Singapore Government would be despatching four RSAF helicopters to Indonesia to assist with the Indonesian government’s relief efforts.  Of these, two RSAF Chinook helicopters left for Medan, Indonesia, this afternoon.  The helicopters were sent off by Minister for Defence, Mr Teo Chee Hean.  Advance elements of a SAF medical team had also arrived in Medan on a RSAF Fokker 50 aircraft earlier in the afternoon.

2.         The remainder of the 25-strong SAF medical team and two RSAF Super Puma helicopters would depart for Indonesia tomorrow.  At the send-off, Mr Teo also announced that the Singapore Government would be sending a LST, a second medical team and an engineer team from the SAF as a composite humanitarian assistance task force to Indonesia on 31 Dec 04.  With the arrival of the LST, this would bring the total number of SAF servicemen assisting with the relief efforts in Indonesia to approximately 530.  Further relief and medical supplies would be sent with the medical team departing tomorrow and also on the LST.

3.         Besides transporting supplies to the disaster area, the LST would serve as a helicopter staging area.  The helicopters would conduct search and rescue operations, casualty evacuations and transport relief and logistical supplies as well as personnel.  The engineer team would help to clear roads and debris, while the medical teams would provide medical assistance.

4.         Singapore will also be providing assistance to Thailand.  The RSAF is prepared to deploy 2 Chinooks and 2 Super Pumas to aid the Thai relief efforts. They will work closely with the Thai military and other national relief agencies to conduct search and rescue operations, and transport logistics and personnel to the affected areas.

5.         The SCDF will send two Disaster Assistance and Rescue Teams (DART) comprising 23-men each to Medan and Phuket to help search for missing persons.  The teams will depart today on two RSAF C-130 aircraft from Paya Lebar Airbase. Singapore Airlines will ferry a humanitarian aid package to Phuket this evening.

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