A total of 77 Malaysians who were previously unaccounted for following last week’s flash floods along the Nepal-Tibet border have been located and are being brought to Kathmandu for repatriation to Malaysia.
Communications Minister Datuk Seri Fahmi Fadzil said 55 other Malaysian citizens have yet to be traced following the disaster.
“The Foreign Minister (Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan) has also informed the cabinet that there are 55 Malaysian citizens who have yet to be traced.
“Meanwhile, 77 Malaysians have been located in Tibet and Nepal. They have been brought to Kathmandu for repatriation to Malaysia,” he told reporters during a weekly press conference.
Fahmi said the Cabinet also took note of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s approval of a US$1 million contribution towards humanitarian efforts following the disaster.
On Aug 30, Anwar announced the deployment of the Special Malaysia Disaster Assistance and Rescue Team (SMART) to Nepal to assist with search and rescue operations.
The flash floods struck the Nepal-Tibet border region on Aug 26 following what is believed to have been a rock avalanche in the Himalayas.
The disaster has left thousands of people unaccounted for, with the number of missing people reaching nearly 4,500 while the confirmed death toll rose to more than 900 as of Monday.
Malaysians were among foreign tourists listed by Nepal’s tourism board as still being out of communication, alongside nationals from India, Ukraine, the United Kingdom, Canada, Latvia and several other countries.
The latest location of the 77 Malaysians provides some relief as authorities continue efforts to trace those who remain unaccounted for and assess the full impact of the disaster.
