KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 22 — The last signals emitted from the mobile phones of the missing Malaysians in Nepal were traced directly to the location hit by a “glacial tsunami”, Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan told the Dewan Rakyat.
Fifty-four Malaysians are among the more than 5,500 people still unaccounted for after a major glacial collapse caused a massive flash flood that buried settlements in the country’s northern mountainous region bordering Tibet, killing between 1,300 to 1,400 people.
“Where the tsunami (flash floods) path occurred, and the last pings we received, they were all at that location,” Mohamad said during Question Time.
All 54 are believed to be dead, but Putrajaya said the Nepalese government often waits for up to 12 years to issue missing or death certificates for natural disaster cases, which has prompted families of those missing to call for government intervention.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim had requested an executive order from Nepal’s Prime Minister to shorten the waiting period for issuing death certificates in disaster cases, Mohamad told Parliament.
The Nepalese government agreed to issue an executive order reducing the process to 45 days, according to the minister.
“We are currently monitoring and reviewing the contents of the order,” Mohamad said, adding that the expedited time frame will help family members resolve administrative and legal matters following the tragedy.