Expedition leader Salleh Nor said the request was conveyed to Nepal’s acting ambassador in Malaysia, Mudita Bajracharya, to help Hawari’s family resolve insurance, employment and documentation matters.
Salleh said that despite Hawari’s disappearance in May 2023, no declaration has been issued, Harian Metro reported.
“We have raised the matter with the Nepali (acting) ambassador, who has agreed to assist. The next step is to submit an official letter to the Nepali government for its consideration,” he told reporters at the World Everest Day 2026 celebration yesterday.
Hawari, 33, a hearing-impaired climber who worked at the Penang Museum, reached the summit on May 19, 2023, but was reported missing the following day during his descent from Camp 4.
In the same expedition, Kedah Civil Defence Force director Awang Askandar Ampuan Yaacub died while receiving treatment at Camp 4, about 8,000m above sea level.
Salleh said the expedition team had previously submitted a medical report to the Malaysian embassy in Kathmandu to support the application for Hawari’s official declaration of death.
The report, prepared by Mountain Medical Institute chief medical officer Dr Abhyu G, concluded that the chances of prolonged survival in the Everest summit region were extremely low.
It noted that the area lies within the “Death Zone” above 8,000m, where oxygen levels are insufficient to sustain human life for prolonged periods, and even with supplementary oxygen, climbers face severe risks of altitude-related illnesses.
In 2024, a reward of US$5,000 (about RM24,000) was offered for information that could assist efforts to determine Hawari’s whereabouts.
Veteran climbers also noted that the steep slopes of nearby Mount Lhotse and the harsh conditions near the summit complicated search operations.
Official records pertaining to fatalities on Mount Everest show that over 340 climbers have died since expeditions began in the 1920s, and a majority of them have not been recovered. Most of those who are considered lost perished in the “Death Zone”.