MALAYSIA’S 11-member Special Malaysia Disaster Assistance and Rescue Team (SMART) departed for Nepal today to assist with search-and-rescue operations following official approval from the Nepalese authorities.
The team departed from Subang Air Base at about 9 am using an A400M aircraft belonging to the Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF).
The mission is led by Smart commander Abdul Manaf Che Isa, with the flight expected to take about five hours.
The Foreign Ministry (Wisma Putra) said the team would be equipped with high-capacity drones and specialised equipment to support operations led by the Nepalese authorities, particularly in areas requiring technical expertise and dedicated operational capabilities.
The deployment will be subject to operational requirements and safety conditions.
“An additional team deployed by the ministry has also arrived in Kathmandu and is assisting the Embassy of Malaysia in coordinating with the relevant Nepalese authorities on ongoing search and identification efforts concerning Malaysians who remain uncontactable.
“This includes coordination on the use of DNA samples for identification purposes,” Wisma Putra said in a statement yesterday.
In Malaysia, identification preparations are also under way, including the collection and analysis of DNA samples from next of kin by the police and the Department of Chemistry Malaysia, in coordination with the ministry.
As of Friday, the ministry’s current record remained at 55 Malaysians reported as uncontactable.
“The ministry remains in direct contact with their immediate next of kin and continues to provide updates as search, verification and related efforts progress.
“Information concerning individual cases continues to be communicated directly to families, while public updates remain focused on verified developments that can be shared more widely,” it said.
The ministry is also continuing efforts to verify information through diplomatic channels with the Chinese Government concerning potential overlap between reports of Malaysians in Nepal and those in Tibet, China.
Malaysia has also conveyed its readiness to provide appropriate search-and-rescue expertise should such assistance be required by the Chinese authorities. - September 5, 2026
