Nepal's deadly floods: Families of 55 missing Malaysians arrive at Wisma Putra for briefing on search efforts.

On September 9, family members of 55 missing Malaysians from the recent floods in Nepal gathered at Wisma Putra for a briefing on the search efforts. The meeting, held as early as 9 am, aimed to provide families with detailed information on the latest developments in the search, verification, and victim identification operations.

Over a month after the incident, this was the second closed-door meeting between the families and government representatives, following the first official engagement on August 30, five days after the floods on August 26.

The government's first briefing on August 30 included a discussion on DNA sample collection to aid in the identification of bodies found in Nepal. The Malaysian Special Disaster Assistance and Rescue Team (SMART), a 11-member team, had been deployed to Nepal since September 5. They conducted ground searches and drone monitoring in designated safe areas before returning to Malaysia on September 14.

Despite SMART's return, Wisma Putra clarified that their departure did not signify the end of efforts to determine the status of the 55 Malaysians. The Nepalese authorities are continuing their search, verification, and identification efforts, while Malaysia maintains diplomatic engagement with the Nepalese authorities.

On September 22, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim expressed the families' concerns and hopes to Nepal Prime Minister Balendra Shah, emphasizing the need to establish an official mechanism to assist the families if the Malaysians remain unaccounted for. The devastating floods and debris flows on August 26 were triggered by ice and rock avalanches in the upper catchment area of Lhende Khola in Tibet. The disaster caused over 1,450 deaths and left thousands more unaccounted for.