The Malaysian Fire and Rescue Department (JBPM) is ready to deploy its Special Tactical Operations and Rescue Malaysia (STORM) team to Nepal at any time, including at short notice, if instructed by the government.
JBPM director-general Datuk Seri Nor Hisham Mohammad said the deployment would depend on a formal request from the Nepalese government, as well as directives and coordination by the Foreign Ministry through Wisma Putra and the National Disaster Management Agency (Nadma).
“We have prepared our best team, particularly STORM personnel with the necessary expertise, along with the required documentation so they can be mobilised as quickly as possible.
“If instructions are received, even at short notice, we are ready to move,” he told reporters while attending the rehearsal for the 2026 National Day celebrations here on Friday.
Nor Hisham said the preparations were made based on JBPM’s previous experience participating in search and rescue operations in Turkiye, where personnel and travel documents had to be arranged well in advance.
Meanwhile, JBPM has yet to establish contact with nine trekkers, including two of its officers and a local agent in Nepal, as of Friday morning.
Nor Hisham said the department remained hopeful that communication networks in the affected area would be restored, allowing authorities to obtain clues about the group’s whereabouts and condition.
“We still have high hopes that communication lines there can be restored and that, at the very least, we can obtain some indication of their location and condition,” he said.
He clarified that the trip was a private trekking expedition and was not organised or managed by JBPM.
The two JBPM officers involved were experienced trekkers and were also part of the department’s core team that assisted in preparations for a JBPM climber’s attempted Mount Everest expedition last year.
Nor Hisham said the current expedition was more focused on trekking, with most of the route covered using four-wheel-drive vehicles. Only the final one to two hours of the journey required the group to travel on foot.
The group departed on August 24 and was expected to enter the Tibet border area on August 26.
Their last communication was received while they were having breakfast that morning. However, authorities have yet to establish whether they remained at their accommodation or had already begun travelling towards the trekking route.
“Based on the last photograph and location, they are believed to have been in the area. If they started moving at around 8.30am, we hope they had enough time to reach higher ground. However, this has yet to be confirmed,” Nor Hisham said.
JBPM is also maintaining close contact with the families of the two officers, who are using various channels and contacts in Nepal to seek the latest information about the missing group.
“We pray for the best and hope that all the participants are safe,” Nor Hisham said.
The disappearance comes after floods and landslides struck the Nepal-China border area, affecting the Gyirong Port border crossing in China’s Gyirong County on Wednesday morning.
The disaster has caused widespread disruption in the region, with the death toll from floods and landslides in Nepal rising to 389, while 466 people have been injured.
Authorities continue to monitor the situation and efforts to establish contact with those who remain unaccounted for.
