SINGAPORE - A team of nurses and doctors from the Singapore General Hospital (SGH) that went to Bangladesh to help treat burn victims of a fatal fighter jet crash has returned home on Aug 1.

The eight-member team, comprising five nurses and three doctors, flew to Dhaka in stages, after an air force jet crashed into a school compound on July 21.

More than 30 people were killed, and another 170 or so were injured. About 80 victims were hospitalised for a raft of injuries including serious burns. Many of the victims were children.

A call for help came from the Bangladesh High Commission office in Singapore, asking for medical reinforcements, said Associate Professor Ong Yee Siang, who is SGH head of plastic, reconstructive and aesthetic surgery.

On July 22, a team headed to Dhaka, led by SGH senior consultant Chong Si Jack and comprising nurses Jovan Lim and Poon Lai Kuan, as well as SingHealth international collaboration office director Vijaya Rao.

On July 24, a second group left for the Bangladeshi capital, this one comprising doctors Jolin Wong and Irene Wong, and nurse clinicians Chester Chow, Wei Guiru and Tan Kwee Yuen.

Teaming up with medical staff in Dhaka, the Singapore team helped with burn dressings, surgical excisions and skin graft operations, said Prof Ong.

The team also lent its expertise to Dhaka hospital staff in areas like caring for critically ill patients, infection prevention and control protocols, he added. Doctors in Singapore also pitched in remotely, making themselves available for teleconsultations.

Singapore and Bangladesh have longstanding ties in sharing expertise on treating burn victims.

In 2016, public healthcare cluster SingHealth and the National Institute of Burn and Plastic Surgery in Dhaka inked a deal that paved the way for efforts aimed at strengthening Bangladesh's burn management programme, said Prof Ong.

SingHealth also helps train medical professionals and shore up expertise in caring for burn patients as part of the deal that was renewed in 2024, he added.

SGH is among the Singapore hospitals that fall under the SingHealth umbrella.

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In 2017, an SGH team visited the National Institute of Burns and Plastic Surgery - among the largest burn units in the world - to treat burn victims and carry out clinical training.

De facto Bangladeshi prime minister Muhammad Yunus met the Singapore team on July 27 in Dhaka, along with other medical staff from China and India, who also helped with treatment and medical support.

Dr Yunus, a Nobel laureate, said: "These teams have come not just with their skills, but with their hearts. Their presence reaffirms our shared humanity and the value of global partnerships in times of tragedy."

He added that many lives were saved because the teams showed up in Dhaka quickly and helped.

Dr Yunus put up a Facebook post about the meeting, and added that charge d'affaires Mitchel Lee, who heads the Singapore High Commission in Dhaka, was also at the meeting.

The Bangladesh Air Force fighter jet in the July 21 incident had experienced mechanical failure and crashed into a building that was part of Milestone School and College.

It was a school day and students were attending classes when the plane hit the two-storey building at 1.06pm. 

This article was first published in The Straits Times. Permission required for reproduction.