Missing Malaysian climbers in Nepal are experienced group, says Fire and Rescue Dept chief

PUTRAJAYA: The nine Malaysian climbers, including two Fire and Rescue Department officers, who remain missing in Nepal are seasoned mountaineers who have known each other for years, stated the department's director-general Datuk Seri Nor Hisham Mohammad. This close-knit group, familiar with one another's climbing history, remains a source of hope for their safety.

The department is maintaining contact with the families of the two affected officers, relying on their own networks to gather information on the climbers' whereabouts. Nor Hisham expressed confidence in the families' efforts to obtain information through various sources available in Nepal. As of today, authorities have yet to establish contact with any of the nine climbers or their Malaysian agent in Nepal, with no communication received from any involved in the expedition.

The department, however, is holding onto hope, anticipating that once communication lines are restored in the affected areas, they will receive a signal indicating the climbers' condition. The expedition was a private affair, not organized by the Fire and Rescue Department, with the two affected officers being Senior Fire Officer II Mohd Fakhrul Munir Mohd Isa and Deputy Division Director Mohd Sani Harul.

Fakhrul Munir is also a member of the department's Special Air Unit (PASKUB). The group embarked from Malaysia on August 24 and was set to return on September 3. Efforts continue to obtain information on the climbers' whereabouts, with focus now on restoring communication services in the affected areas.