A search for 10 campers caught in Friday’s deadly landslide at an unlicensed campsite in Malaysia continued for a second day, but heavy rains overnight complicated the operation, officials said yesterday.
At least 23 people, including five children, were killed after a landslide in Batang Kali, a popular hilly area about 50km north of Kuala Lumpur, tore down while people slept in their tents.
Ninety-four people were caught in the landslide, but 61 were safe, with 10 still missing, the Malaysian Fire and Rescue Department said.
Photo: AFP
Search-and-rescue operations were suspended overnight due to heavy rains and resumed around 8:30am yesterday, with the assistance of excavators and seven canines, Selangor Fire and Rescue Department Director Norazam Khamis said.
“We have to be careful because there is strong water flow from the top and in the soil, this complicates search operations because the ground is soft,” he said.
Norazam told reporters the chances of the missing people being able to survive the lack of oxygen and weight of the soil were slim.
Photo: AFP
An initial investigation showed an embankment of about 450,000m3 of earth had collapsed. The earth fell from an estimated height of 30m and covered an area of about half a hectare.
Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim told reporters late on Friday the government would provide 10,000 ringgit (US$2,260) in aid to the families of every person killed in the mudslide, while survivors would receive 1,000 ringgit per household.
The Malaysian Forestry Department in several states ordered the closure of campsites considered as high risk, as well as hiking and off-road driving trails following the disaster.
Selangor Chief Minister Amirudin Shari wrote on Twitter that all picnic and camping sites in the state would be closed for a week.
Landslides are common in Malaysia, but typically only after heavy rains, which are regular at the end of the year. Flooding occurs often, with about 21,000 people displaced last year by torrential rain in seven states.
However, no heavy rains were recorded in the area on the night of the disaster.
The government has imposed strict rules on hillside development.
In March, four people were killed after a massive landslide triggered by heavy rains buried their homes in a Kuala Lumpur suburb.
In one of the deadliest such incidents, a huge mudslide in 1993 brought on by heavy rain caused a 12-story residential building outside the capital to collapse, killing 48 people.
Additional reporting by AFP
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