THE Special Malaysia Disaster Assistance and Rescue Team (SMART) received a heartwarming welcome from representatives of the Myanmar community in Malaysia upon their return from earthquake-hit Myanmar.
They were presented with flowers and traditional scarves by members of Myanmar's ethnic minorities who gathered outside the SMART headquarters to await their return.
James La Seng from the Coalition of Burma Ethnics Malaysia (Cobem), expressed the community's deep gratitude to the team.
"No words can express how thankful we are to the SMART team for responding so quickly to the disaster.
"We know their SAR operations would have been extremely challenging, as infrastructure and resources are limited due to the ongoing civil war in Myanmar.
It's even more touching that they sacrificed their Hari Raya celebrations for this," he said in a statement today.
The 50-member SMART team arrived at the RMAF Subang airfield and was also reunited with their families in an emotional gathering at their headquarters in Pulau Meranti.
According to reports, SMART successfully extricated seven victims from the earthquake rubble, including one who was still alive. - April 8, 2025
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