Hat Yai Floods: 36 Stranded UUM Students, Lecturers Rescued - Zambry

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 27 (Bernama) -- All 36 students and two lecturers from Universiti Utara Malaysia (UUM) who were stranded due to floods in Hat Yai, Thailand, have been successfully rescued today, says Higher Education Minister Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abd Kadir.

In a Facebook post, he said all of them were now safe and would be moved to a temporary shelter before being brought home 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 in ensuring this rescue operation was carried out safely and in an orderly manner.

“May the remaining arrangements go smoothly, Insya-Allah,” he said.

All the students and lecturers involved are from the Tunku Puteri Intan Safinaz School of Accountancy (TISSA-UUM) and had been stranded since Nov 22 when participating in the Thai-MYS 2025 Cultural Exchange Programme.

Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan today said that more than 700 Malaysians had been successfully evacuated from Hat Yai to Bukit Kayu Hitam, Kedah following the major floods in southern Thailand, according to a report from the Malaysian Consulate General in the country yesterday.

He said the evacuation operation was able to proceed following a drop in water levels after heavy rain subsided yesterday afternoon, allowing Malaysian and Thai teams to access more locations that were previously cut off.

-- BERNAMA