PETALING JAYA: The next of kin of 25 of the 55 Malaysians still unaccounted for in Nepal have submitted DNA samples to authorities to help identify victims.
Dr R. Manivanna, a spokesperson of Malaysian Solidarity: Families in Hope (Masfih), said he was among those who had provided samples, together with four other family members, to facilitate the identification process.
According to him, his sister, Komathi Rethinam, 48, is among those still missing after joining a religious pilgrimage to the Mount Kailash region in Tibet, China.
“Police came to collect DNA samples from my family. Five family members provided samples, including her parents, her child and two siblings,” he said in a statement yesterday.
Manivanna said some next of kin had been asked to provide their samples at the district police headquarters, adding that the authorities aimed to complete the collection process from all affected families this week.
He said the next of kin had 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, along with other distinctive physical features or markings.
“All this information is needed to assist the identification process should any unidentified bodies be found,” he said, adding that it will be expedited with the relevant authorities.
Meanwhile, Manivanna said he had been informed that the Foreign Ministry would send an official team to Kathmandu to assist with consular matters and field operations, with the team’s presence crucial for obtaining first-hand information and facilitating the identification of victims.
“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.
The Foreign Ministry announced last Sunday that the next of kin of Malaysians who remain unaccounted for had been encouraged to provide DNA samples 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 no suitable storage facilities were available at the site.
Another next of kin, who declined to be named, also revealed that she had submitted her DNA for that purpose.
“I hope this will help clear the situation and identify those who are affected,” she said.
Wisma Putra reported that the number of Malaysians who remained uncontactable remained at 36 in China, and 55 in Nepal, following a devastating muddy debris flow that swept Nepal’s Rasuwa district on Aug 26.
A debris flow is a fast-moving slurry of water, soil, rock, and other material that speeds downhill like mass of fresh concrete.
Turkiye’s Anadolu Agency reported that the disaster’s death toll had risen to 1,220, while nearly 4,762 people, including 844 foreign nationals, remained missing.
