This is the first time that the police's K9 dogs are being deployed for an overseas mission, the SPF and Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) said in a joint release on Monday (Aug 13). The three victim recovery dogs, along with a 32-member Home Team contingent – comprising 14 SPF officers and 18 SCDF officers – left Paya Lebar Air Base on a Republic of Singapore Air Force C-130 transport aircraft on Monday morning. Led by Superintendent Mohamad Sofian Salleh, the police will offer assistance in victim recovery efforts, together with the K-9 dogs. The death toll in the flooding caused by a dam collapse in Laos has climbed to 36 while 98 are still missing, national daily Vientiane Times reported on Monday. READ: 'It sounded like the sea': Lao villagers recount frightening moment of dam collapse

The SCDF officers will replace the current 17-member SCDF team which has been carrying out disaster relief efforts in the Attapeu province since Aug 4. An under-construction saddle dam of the Xe Pian-Xe Nam Noy hydropower project, invested by South Korean, Thai and Lao companies, collapsed on July 23, unleashing a large amount of water and hitting some 13 villages of Sanamxay district.
The death toll from a dam collapse in Laos on 23 July rises to 36, while 98 people are still missing.