SMART team to head home from Nepal, says foreign minister
Mohamad Hasan says there has been no development or trace so far of the 55 Malaysians, who are among the 5,000 people still missing.
Malaysian Foreign Minister Mohamad Hasan announced that the SMART team will be returning to Malaysia after their mission in Nepal. The team left Nepal on Saturday with 12.4 tonnes of equipment to aid in search and rescue operations following devastating floods and landslides. Hasan clarified that Nepal authorities were not planning to end their search and rescue efforts, with about 5,000 people still unaccounted for.
The SMART team took over 55 Malaysians missing during the disaster, but no further updates have been received on their whereabouts. The disaster, which began on August 26, has claimed over 1,400 lives and left thousands more missing. The Malaysian government is working with Nepal's foreign and law ministries to establish the status of the missing Malaysians, as Nepali law requires a death certificate only after three years, as opposed to seven years in Malaysia.
Furthermore, Malaysia is seeking Nepal's assistance to facilitate the DNA testing of bodies recovered from the disaster, as Nepal lacks the necessary facilities and equipment for DNA matching.
Written by urgent.news from Free Malaysia Today's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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- Gujarat earthquake, Nepal floods & more: What is it about the date 26? timesofindia.indiatimes.com
