Over the weekend, two Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) C-130 military transport aircraft, which arrived in Christchurch on 24 Feb 2011, were dispatched to assist the New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) to airlift humanitarian aid and supplies to victims of the earthquake. The aircraft have made two supply runs to transport bottled water and welfare supplies, as well as a decontamination team and equipment into Christchurch. The aircraft also evacuated 138 civilians out of Christchurch to Wellington and Auckland.

The SAF has made available the two C-130s currently based out of Whenuapai Air Base near Auckland for use by the NZDF as part of the ongoing assistance provided by the SAF for the disaster relief efforts in Christchurch, New Zealand. This morning, the NZDF Chief of Defence Force Lieutenant-General (LG) Richard Rhys Jones visited the SAF team and expressed his appreciation for the SAF's contributions to the rescue operations and disaster relief efforts thus far. Singapore Contingent Commander Colonel Melvyn Ong, who met with LG Jones, said, "The Singapore contingent remains committed to assisting the NZDF with rescue operations and to provide humanitarian aid to the residents whose lives and homes have been affected by the earthquake.

We hope that our assistance has gone some way towards relieving the suffering of the earthquake victims."Since Friday, two medical officers from the SAF team were deployed with the NZDF mobile primary healthcare team to welfare centres in Christchurch where they provided medical assistance to civilians affected by the earthquake. The 116-strong SAF team continues to be deployed to help the NZDF with cordon operations to ensure the safety and security of the residents whose lives and homes have been affected by the earthquake.