''You have taken up the mission courageously and have worked tirelessly in the most difficult and obnoxious environment. Your dedication and commitment has vividly demonstrated the professionalism of the civil service and earned the high respect of the community we serve,'' said Mr Wong in a letter to the support team.

At the height of the support operation there were 160 Hong Kong officers from the Immigration Department (ImmD), Police Force, Auxiliary Medical Service (AMS), Civil Aid Service (CAS) and Security Bureau (SB) in various parts of southern Asia rendering assistance. They were supported by the Home Affairs Bureau (HAB), Department of Health (DoH), Social Welfare Department (SWD) and Information Services Department (ISD).


Immediate action plan

Within hours of the tsunami disasters, the HKSAR Government had contacted the Travel Industry Council of Hong Kong who advised that all on package tours in and around Phuket, a popular resort in Thailand, were safe. But not all were on package tours. There were many individual travellers and Hong Kong's official overseas representatives — the Chinese diplomatic and consular missions of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the affected countries — were requested to assess the extent of damage and render assistance to the wounded or stranded Hong Kong residents. Despite the suspension of flights to Phuket, the Chinese Consul-General in Sonhkhla, Thailand, sent staff on a six-hour drive by road to locate and assist the stranded Hong Kong residents at the resort.


Task force formed

The HKSAR Government was deeply aggrieved by the incident and the Chief Executive tasked the Chief Secretary for Administration, Donald Tsang, to lead a task force to do everything possible to assist Hong Kong residents so they could return home as soon as possible.

Secretary for Security, Ambros Lee, with members of the Auxiliary Medical Service before they depart for tsunami-torn Phuket.

Immediately crisis management came into force. That afternoon (December 26), recalls Deputy Secretary for Security, Michael Wong, ''the Immigration Department made preparations to send staff to Phuket, but owing to the suspension of flights, they could not leave until the following morning. Medical staff and a rescue team of the Fire Services Department were also put on standby.''


First contingent to Thailand

The following day two immigration officers arrived in Phuket and two other officers were sent to Colombo, Sri Lanka. The Economic Development and Labour Bureau and the Civil Aviation Department (CAD) liaised with airlines to accord the greatest flexibility for the return of Hong Kong residents and put on extra flights should the need arise.

On December 28, two more officers were dispatched to Thailand and two more to Colombo, bringing a total of 12 immigration officers in Thailand and Sri Lanka. Mr Tsang held meetings with representatives from four of the affected countries — Thailand, India, the Maldives and Indonesia — to assess the local situation and expressed willingness to offer them aid.

As more and more information came to hand, Hong Kong's efforts were beefed up. The SB with the Police, ImmD, CAS and AMS made preparations for a major reinforcement of personnel to the tsunami stricken areas of Thailand. The Chief Secretary's task force endorsed the deployment of the Hong Kong Support Team, with 19 immigration officers and the first team of medical staff and clinical psychologists departing for Phuket on December 29.

A day later they were reinforced by another 120 officers from SB, the Police, ImmD, ISD, CAS and AMS as well as the second team of medical officers and clinical psychologists.

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