KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian officials said 13 people had died and seven were injured by a landslide as they slept at a campsite near Genting Highlands earlier today.
Search teams were scouring thick mud and downed trees for dozens still missing at the campsite close to the road and near Father’s Organic Farm in Gohtong Jaya, which is in the state of Selangor.
The National Disaster Management Agency said 60 people were found safe, out of a total of 94 people caught in the landslide.
District police chief Suffian Abdullah said the dead were Malaysians and included a child about five years old.
Almost 400 people from several agencies had been deployed, with search-and-rescue efforts ongoing, he told a news conference.
Selangor Fire and Rescue Department director Norazam Khamis said firefighters began arriving at the scene at about 3am after receiving a distress call at 2.24am.
“The search and rescue mission for the victims is being carried out with the STORM (Special Tactical Operation and Rescue Team of Malaysia) team,” he said in response to Bernama’s queries.
Malaysia’s Civil Defence Force also tweeted photos of its Special Team (PASPA) and Selangor department joining in the search and rescue operation.
Norazam said the landslide fell from an estimated height of 30m above the campsite, and covered an area of about 0.4ha.
Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said he was shocked by the incident.
“I have asked that search and rescue operations be done in a careful and systematic way by all government bodies,” he said, adding that he had advised ministers visiting the site to not disrupt operations.
“I pray that the missing victims can be found safely soon,” Malaysia’s minister of natural resources, environment and climate change, Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad, tweeted on Friday morning. “The rescue team has been working since early. I’m going down there today.”
The disaster struck about 50km north of Kuala Lumpur in Batang Kali town, just outside the popular hilltop area of the Genting Highlands, which is known for its resorts and natural beauty.
Pictures posted on the Father’s Organic Farm Facebook page show a farmhouse in a small valley, with a large area where tents can be set up.
Footage from local television showed the aftermath of a landslide through a forested area beside a road, while other images on social media showed rescue workers clambering over thick mud, large trees and other debris.
Selangor is the country’s most affluent state and has suffered landslides before, often attributed to forest and land clearance.
The region is in its rainy season but no heavy rain or earthquakes were recorded overnight.
Landslides are common in Malaysia after heavy rains, which are regular at the end of the year.
Scientists say extreme weather events have become more frequent and intense due to climate change.
The government has imposed strict rules with regards to hillside development, but landslides have continued to occur after bouts of bad weather.
In March, four people were killed after a massive landslide triggered by heavy rains buried their homes in a Kuala Lumpur suburb.
A year ago, about 21,000 people were displaced by flooding from torrential rain in seven states across the country.
In 1993, a huge mudslide brought on by heavy rain caused a 12-storey residential building outside the capital to collapse, killing 48 people.
Source: Agencies
