KUALA LUMPUR – Anxious family members of the 55 Malaysians still missing following the devastating glacial flash floods in Nepal gathered at Wisma Putra as early as 9 am today, seeking crucial updates on ongoing search and identification efforts more than a month after the Aug 26 disaster struck.
The closed-door session—the second official engagement between government agencies and affected next-of-kin—gave grieving families a direct channel to receive detailed operational briefings on victim verification and recovery efforts.
The multi-agency briefing involved representatives from the National Disaster Management Agency (NADMA), the Special Malaysia Disaster Assistance and Rescue Team (SMART), the Royal Malaysia Police (PDRM), the Department of Chemistry Malaysia, the National Registration Department (JPN), and the Social Welfare Department (JKM).
Today’s session follows an initial official engagement on Aug 30, five days after the disaster, where closed-door briefings were held and deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) samples were collected from next-of-kin to assist Nepalese authorities in identifying recovered remains.
Despite initial ground deployments wrapping up, officials reiterated that search operations remain active through diplomatic and local channels. An 11-member SMART team deployed to Nepal on Sept 5 conducted extensive ground searches and drone surveillance across approved safe zones before returning to Malaysia on Sept 14.
Wisma Putra had previously said the team’s return did not mean efforts to determine the status of the 55 Malaysians had ended; Nepalese authorities are continuing search, verification, and identification operations, while Malaysia pursues diplomatic efforts with the relevant authorities.
The push for answers has reached the highest levels of government. On Sept 22, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim conveyed the concerns and hopes of the victims’ families to Nepalese Prime Minister Balendra Shah and raised the need to establish a formal mechanism to assist the families should the Malaysians remain unaccounted for.
The disaster was triggered on Aug 26 by a massive ice and rock collapse in the upper Lhende Khola catchment area in Tibet, sending catastrophic floods and debris flows racing through Nepal that reportedly claimed over 1,450 lives, with thousands more still missing. — September 27, 2026