As many as 461 deaths of Nepali migrant workers were reported in Malaysia last year, and 70 percent of them died either of heart attack or sudden cardiac arrest, according to Nepal’s ambassador to Malaysia.

The Sun Daily, a local Malaysian newspaper, has quoted Nepal’s Ambassador to Malaysia Niranjan Man Singh Basnyat as saying that “long working hours and excessive consumption of alcohol, which lead to extreme dehydration as well as stress of repaying their debt back home are the main reasons why so many Nepalis are dying of heart attack or sudden cardiac arrest”. The remaining 30 percent deaths were due to fatal accidents at work place and suicide.

Neither the Foreign Employment Promotion Board (FEPB) nor the Ministry of Labour and Employment could confirm the data. According to the FEPB, 425 Nepali workers died in Malaysia between July 2014 and July 2015. The Embassy in Malaysia has recorded 2,945 deaths of Nepali workers in the last 10 years.  Some experts say no proper research has been conducted so far to find out the exact reasons of deaths of migrant workers.