to remove the rubble. RSAF UH-1H helicopters were on standby at the nearby Farrer Park football field to evacuate rescued victims to the Singapore General Hospital. On 26 March 1991, Singapore Airlines Flight 117 was hijacked by four Pakistanis en route to Singapore. Upon landing in Changi Airport at 8:15pm SGT, the hijackers demanded the release of several Pakistan Peoples Party members. Negotiations faltered, and after the hijackers gave their ultimatum to have their demands fulfilled at 6.15am SGT of the following morning, Commandos from SAF's Special Operations Force (SOF) stormed the plane and shot all of the hijackers dead and rescued the hostages. During the SARS outbreak in 2003, SAF paramedics were deployed at Changi International Airport to screen incoming passengers from places hit by SARS such as Hong Kong, China, Hanoi and Toronto. The SAF also deployed 220 servicemen with operations such as screening for SARS, contact tracing and enforcing home quarantine orders. The team also managed other major operations such as the quarantine of 1,500 staff from the Institute of Mental Health. In 2004, the Singapore Armed Forces also responded to the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami. In addition to the human tolls, being one of the nearest neighbors to the tsunami-hit countries and a nation that was not directly affected by the recent disaster, Singapore has been able to render prompt help as part of the global relief efforts. During the COVID-19 pandemic since 2020, over 1,500 SAF servicemen were called upon to pack 5.2 million masks and transport them to distribution centers across Singapore in time for the start of distribution on 1 February that year. A MINDEF personnel also ran the National Call Centre to address public queries on the collection of reusable masks, which were distributed in April. Personnel manning the phone lines included volunteers from MINDEF and the SAF, as well as clan associations, grounded staff from Singapore Airlines, and other retrenched workers, who were employed by MINDEF on short-term contracts. The SAF also deployed manpower to assist in manning thermal imagery machines at the airport to pick out travellers with symptoms. To aid in operations, MINDEF had also recruited former SAF regulars as the inter-agency task force handling the spike in cases from foreign worker dormitories, including “personnel with operational experience.” They were to augment the Forward Assurance Support Teams (FAST) deployed at various foreign worker dormitories. Both regular and