Nepal Floods Cut Off 55 Malaysians, Among Them, Two Of Malaysia's Most Experienced Rescue Officers

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Flash floods tore through Nepal’s Rasuwa district on Wednesday (26 Aug) after the Bhote Koshi River overflowed and an upstream avalanche destroyed roads, bridges, and telecommunications infrastructure.

The disaster has left 55 Malaysian nationals uncontactable, including two of Malaysia’s most experienced fire and rescue officers.

Wisma Putra confirmed today (27 Aug) that it has not received any official confirmation of Malaysian casualties.

The primary reason all 55 remain listed as missing is the total collapse of communication and road access into the mountainous northern border region near Tibet.

The Malaysian Fire and Rescue Department (Bomba) identified the two officers as Mohd Sani Harul, Deputy Director of the Planning and Research Division at Bomba’s federal headquarters and former Selangor Operations Director, and Mohd Fakhrul Munir Mohd Isa, a Special Air Service Force (PASKUB) officer and professional climber stationed at the Bomba Central Region Air Base at Subang Airport.

Bomba Director-General Datuk Seri Nor Hisham Mohammad confirmed the two were not engaged in technical climbing at the time.

They were travelling by jeep along the Tibetan highway toward Everest Base Camp as part of a ten-person Malaysian convoy when contact was lost on Wednesday morning.

Their last known position: approximately 18 kilometres from the Rasuwagadhi-Kerung border crossing between Nepal and Tibet.

The 10-person group travelling with the two officers comprised: Ganesh Neupane, Shabuddin Mun, Azman Karim, Mohd Fadzil Daros, Muhammad Haziq Ismail, Mohd Nohan Salim, Jason Ngeow, and Muhamad Nasir Abdul Talib.

Ganesh, a Nepalese expedition leader with established ties to Malaysian and Singaporean climbing groups, was leading the convoy.

He departed Malaysia with the group on Monday night (24 Aug) and remains uncontactable.

The ten-person convoy is part of a broader 55-Malaysian missing persons count.

A separate group of 17 Malaysians travelling with Fishtail Tours and Travels on a religious pilgrimage to Mount Kailash in Tibet, China, was last tracked near the Nepal-China checkpoint before communications were severed.

The remainder are independent tourists and trekkers whose families have reported them uncontactable to Wisma Putra.

Major roads, highways and bridges into Rasuwa have been washed away or buried under mud, severely restricting search and rescue access.

Nepal has deployed military and police SAR teams along with rescue helicopters to the Bhote Koshi and Trishuli river areas, but poor weather continues to delay operations.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has directed the National Security Council and Wisma Putra to coordinate with Nepalese emergency services pending the restoration of access routes.

The Malaysian Embassy in Kathmandu, led by Charge d’Affaires Mohd Firdaus Azman, is coordinating with Nepal’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Families are advised to email passport and travel details of uncontactable relatives to [email protected] for urgent tracking.

READ MORE: [Watch] Malaysians Lose Contact In Nepal Floods: Videos Show Roads And Buildings Swallowed By Floodwaters And Mud Near China Border

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