A TOTAL of 91 Malaysians remain unaccounted for following devastating floods in Nepal and China, with 55 unreachable in Nepal and another 36 in China, Wisma Putra said.
The Foreign Ministry said it was coordinating with authorities in both countries to verify the figures and cross-check information to avoid duplicate reports.
"The official count is subject to change as contact is re-established and additional information is received," it said.
The announcement comes as families across Nepal continue searching for loved ones among the thousands still missing after the floods struck on Aug 26.
Rescue operations have been hampered by severe logistical challenges, with entire villages cut off from road access and hundreds of victims feared trapped beneath rubble, mud and floodwaters.
Bloomberg reported on Sunday that many of those missing were working in remote areas along the rugged Nepal-China border, including at hydropower projects, hotels and tour companies, further complicating rescue and identification efforts.
In Kathmandu, Nepal's largest hospital has become a gathering point for families searching for missing relatives.
Among them was Sukuntala Bhatta, whose 22-year-old son, Om Prakash Bhatta, worked at a hotel near the China-Nepal border.
She said she had been unable to determine whether her son had survived the flash floods or where he might have been taken if he was alive.
"It's already been four days," she said. "We don't know who to contact. We don't know anything on the other side."
Authorities estimate that nearly 3,000 people remain missing, with the figure expected to rise as rescue teams gain access to isolated areas.
David Fisher, head of the Nepal delegation for the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, described the devastation in Nuwakot as overwhelming.
"It was a horror to walk around. It looks like a bomb blew up," he said.
"There's nothing left. People have lost everything."
Nepali Foreign Minister Shisir Khanal said on Aug 29 that Nepal was seeking specialised international assistance for its rescue and recovery operations.
The assistance sought includes technical expertise to open tunnels where people may be trapped, heavy-duty drones to deliver supplies to stranded communities and forensic support to identify victims.
"The scale of devastation is extremely huge, and support and assistance are required, not just in the phase of rescue and relief but more so in the phase of reconstruction," Khanal said during a press briefing.
At Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital in Kathmandu, photographs of recovered bodies were displayed as families searched for missing relatives.
Rabina Sunar, a farmer from Dhading, travelled to Kathmandu with more than 30 villagers seeking news of friends and family members along the flood-stricken river.
She identified her 34-year-old brother among the recovered bodies.
"I don't know what to do now," she said.
Sunar said she received conflicting information about where she could recover her brother's body, underscoring the communication difficulties confronting families and authorities.
For Bhatta's family, hope was also fading.
She said she had gone to a Nepali consular office in Kathmandu seeking help but found it closed. She planned to approach the Chinese embassy but was unsure where to begin.
Her husband, Uma Kanta Bhatta, said the family had already survived one of Nepal's worst natural disasters.
In 2015, the family survived the devastating earthquake that killed about 9,000 people and destroyed their home in a village outside Kathmandu.
They later moved to the capital, where Uma Kanta, 55, and his wife opened a grocery shop.
Now, he is facing another tragedy as the search for his son continues.
"I'm getting old, I can't work as much," he said. "I have two children and I was educating them, and now my son has disappeared."
Wisma Putra said individual case updates would be provided directly and exclusively to verified next of kin in accordance with consular procedures.
The ministry added that personal information would not be released publicly without the explicit consent of immediate family members.
It urged the media and public to respect the privacy of affected families and rely on official ministry statements for updates.
Malaysians with relatives who remain unreachable or who require consular assistance can contact Wisma Putra's 24-hour Operations Room at +603 8887 4570 or [[email protected]](mailto:[email protected]). - August 30, 2026
