Malaysia’s Special Malaysia Disaster Assistance and Rescue Team (SMART) MAS01 arrived safely in Kathmandu yesterday to begin its Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) mission following devastating floods in Nepal.
The 11-member team landed at Tribhuvan International Airport at noon local time before completing arrival procedures and mission protocols by 4.30pm, according to the National Disaster Management Agency (Nadma).
The procedures included logistics clearance and verification of the team’s member manifest.
“As of the latest update, the team is en route to the Malaysian Embassy to receive a briefing on the current situation,” Nadma said in a statement today.
It added that further coordination would be carried out with the Malaysian Embassy and local emergency management agencies to determine the team’s deployment arrangements.
Nadma said it would work with the Malaysian Embassy in Nepal to coordinate daily mission reports throughout the operation.
The agency also confirmed that all team members were in good health, with no issues reported as of the latest update.
The SMART personnel departed for Nepal at 9am yesterday aboard a Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) A400M aircraft from Subang Air Base.
The team brought 12.4 tonnes of equipment, including rescue gear, detection devices, communication systems, high-capacity drones and specialised tunnel rescue tools.
The deployment also included a four-wheel-drive vehicle and a 10-tonne cargo truck to support rescue and relief operations on the ground.
