All 36 UUM students and two lecturers stranded by Hat Yai floods are safe after a coordinated rescue operation involving Malaysian and Thai authorities.
KUALA LUMPUR: All 36 Universiti Utara Malaysia students and two lecturers stranded by floods in Hat Yai, Thailand, have been successfully rescued.
Higher Education Minister Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abd Kadir confirmed the rescue in a Facebook post today.
He stated all individuals are now safe and will be moved to a temporary shelter before returning to Malaysia.
“I extend my highest appreciation and thanks to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Malaysian Embassy in Thailand, the Consulate General of Malaysia in Songkhla, the Thai authorities, local rescue teams and UUM management for their highly effective coordination,” Zambry said.
He added that the rescue operation was carried out safely and in an orderly manner.
The students and lecturers are from the Tunku Puteri Intan Safinaz School of Accountancy.
They had been stranded since November 22 while participating in the Thai-MYS 2025 Cultural Exchange Programme.
Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan separately reported that more than 700 Malaysians were successfully evacuated from Hat Yai to Bukit Kayu Hitam, Kedah.
This followed a report from the Malaysian Consulate General in Thailand yesterday.
He said the evacuation proceeded after water levels dropped when heavy rain subsided yesterday afternoon.
This allowed Malaysian and Thai teams to access more locations previously cut off by the flooding.
