By Shakir Husain
HYDERABAD, Aug 29 (Bernama) -- Nepal has yet to decide whether it will accept search and rescue (SAR) assistance from more countries, pending an assessment of the situation in the aftermath of the devastating floods in Rasuwa district.
Grappling with the devastation in its central and northern regions following Wednesday's Bhote Koshi and Trishuli river flooding, Nepal has accepted SAR assistance from Australia, China, India and South Korea.
Malaysia is among several countries that have offered to assist Nepal in its ongoing search and rescue operations.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said earlier that Malaysia is coordinating the delivery of aid to Nepal, including the possibility of deploying the Malaysian Special Search and Rescue Team (SMART).
“They (Nepal) informed that they will assess the situation before accepting SAR missions from any other country,” the charge d’affaires of the Malaysian Embassy in Kathmandu, Mohd Firdaus Azman, told Bernama on Saturday.
The four countries whose SAR assistance Nepal has accepted have citizens working at the flood-hit hydropower facilities.
More than 900 workers at 11 hydropower projects, including those under construction, are trapped in tunnels and underground powerhouses, Nepalese media reported.
Media reported on Saturday that at least 633 people across Nepal and China were killed in the disaster that struck on Wednesday morning, while nearly 3,000 others, including hundreds of foreign nationals, remain missing.
According to the Malaysian Foreign Ministry 55 Malaysians in Nepal and 36 Malaysians in China remained uncontactable as of 8pm today.
-- BERNAMA