Landslide wreaks havoc in Malaysia, death toll rises to 24, many people still missing
The death toll in a landslide at a tourist camp site on the outskirts of the Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur has risen to 24. Rescue workers found the bodies of a woman and two children on Saturday. Still nine people are said to be missing in this accident. Selangor state fire chief Norajam Khamis said the bodies of the mother and son were found buried under a meter of mud and debris. Later the body of a small girl was also found. He said that during the landslide, such people are expected to survive who have climbed trees or rocks and air is reaching them despite being buried under the debris. Although this is less likely to happen.
Officials said the landslide hit a campsite in Batang Kali in central Selangor, about 50 km from Kuala Lumpur, where 94 people were present. He said that people were sleeping at the time of the incident and at the same time mud fell on the tourist spot from a road about 30 meters high from the ‘campsite’ and covered an area of about three acres. Most of the families involved in the incident were enjoying holidays during the year-end school break.
Six children were among the 24 victims.
Officials are still conducting post-mortems on the bodies and were waiting on next of kin to identify the victims. The 24 victims include six children and 13 women. Rescuers said on Friday a mother and her newborn daughter were found clutching her chest. Seven people were hospitalized and dozens more were rescued safely. On Saturday, rescuers are engaged in rescue operations with almost all necessary equipment. A ‘campsite’ is a place where people set up tents to spend time. Such places are quite popular among the local people.
