Efforts underway to repatriate body of Malaysian climber

KUALA LUMPUR: Efforts to repatriate the body of Malaysian mountaineer Syed Redzuan Syed Salim Shatri who went missing in Mount Damavand, Iran on Nov 20 are underway.

The 50-year- old victim was found dead on Monday during a search operation at the mountain’s Yakhar Glacier.

Malaysian expedition leader Rozaimi Mohd Said said he would go to Amol City in Mazandaran Province to obtain clearance from the authorities to send the body to Tehran before its repatriation to Malaysia.

“This will be done with help from (officers at) the Malaysian Embassy in Tehran,” he told reporters yesterday, via WhatsApp from Reyneh town, about 86km from Amol City.

Syed Redzuan and another climber, Ramli Abd Majid, 44, were reported missing at the 5,610m-high mountain after being separated from other team members. On Ramli, Rozaimi said he was informed there was no SAR mission to locate him due to the inclement weather.

“The team did not say for how long (the SAR mission was on hold) but it said the mission would resume when the weather got better, and this (the search) can be done without having to wait until the next season,” he said.

He urged Malaysians to continue praying so that Ramli could be reunited with his family.

Meanwhile, Wisma Putra said Syed Redzuan’s body had been sent to a mortuary in Amol.

“The Malaysian Embassy is assisting (with) the transfer and repatriation of the remains.

“The embassy’s ( staff) together with the deceased’s family members will travel to Amol to expedite the process of confirmation and facilitate the necessary arrangements with the relevant Iranian authorities,” it said in a statement. — Bernama