KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 3 — As of yesterday, the next of kin of 25 of the 55 Malaysians still unaccounted for following the floods and landslides in Nepal had submitted DNA samples to assist in identifying victims.
Malaysian Solidarity: Families in Hope (MASFIH) representative Dr R. Manivanna said he, along with four other family members, provided samples to support the identification process.
His sister Komathi Rethinam, 48, is among those still missing after travelling to the region on a religious pilgrimage to Mount Kailash in Tibet, China.
“Yesterday, police officers came to our home in Cheras to collect DNA samples. Five family members provided samples, including her parents, her child, and two siblings,” he said when contacted by Bernama today.
Manivanna added that some next of kin were asked to provide samples at the district police headquarters, and that authorities aimed to complete the collection process from all affected families this week.
They have also been asked to provide the victims’ personal belongings, such as toothbrushes, hairbrushes, and mascara wands, as well as details of their clothing, brand names, mobile phones, footwear, and any distinctive physical marks.
“All this information is needed to assist the identification process should any unidentified bodies be found,” he said.
Meanwhile, Manivanna said he had been informed that the Foreign Ministry (Wisma Putra) would send an official team to Kathmandu to assist with consular matters and field operations.
The team’s presence is crucial to obtaining first-hand information and facilitating the identification of victims at hospitals and locations where bodies are being held.
“We currently need an official team on the ground to visit hospitals and the sites where the bodies are being kept, to assist with the victim identification process,” he said.
On Sunday (August 30), Wisma Putra announced that the next of kin of Malaysians who remain unaccounted for had been encouraged to undergo DNA testing at their respective state police contingent headquarters.
The measure forms part of preliminary preparations following the discovery of several unidentified bodies in the disaster zone. The bodies had to be buried immediately because suitable storage facilities were unavailable at the site.
It reported that the number of Malaysians who could not be contacted remained at 36 in China and 55 in Nepal following the devastating flash floods and landslides in Nepal’s Rasuwa district on August 26.
Anadolu Ajansı reported that the disaster’s death toll had risen to 1,220, while nearly 4,762 people, including 844 foreign nationals, remained missing.
