CAMERON HIGHLANDS: A massive rescue operation is under way after an orang asli settlement was buried under tonnes of earth and mud in a landslide at Kampung Sungai Ruil near Brinchang here.
One woman was killed while three others have been pulled out.
Six others are still unaccounted for following the 5.50pm incident which struck six houses yesterday.
The dead woman has yet to be identified. The two who were pulled out are Bah Anjang Besar Alang, 39, and Serry Priary Saari, 15.
Racing against time: Volunteers and rescue personnel searching for survivors last night. The other survivor has yet to be identified.
The injured were rushed to the Sultanah Hajjah Kalsom Hospital in Tanah Rata.
This is the second landslide to hit an orang asli settlement after 40 villagers were killed in Pos Dipang in Perak 15 years ago.
In that incident, the village was hit by an avalanche of logs, earth and debris which swept down a hill, burying the victims alive.
Cameron Highlands MP Datuk S.K. Devamany, who rushed to the scene yesterday, said the settlement, located about 5km from Tanah Rata town, had 145 houses with a population of 1,300 people.
“The situation looks very serious here.
“We have evacuated the other residents in the vicinity. We are afraid that there may be another collapse,” he added.
State executive councillor Datuk Wan Rosdy Wan Ismail said an emergency centre had been set up at a multi-purpose hall in Brinchang.
“So far, 60 people had been ordered to evacuate their houses,” he added.
OCPD Deputy Supt Wan Mohd Zahri Wan Busu said rescue workers were still looking for the others buried under the rubble.
“There was heavy rain before the incident,” he told reporters at the scene, adding that the victims were from three families.
A total of 120 rescue workers, comprising the police, Fire and Rescue Department and Civil Defence Department members, are conducting the search operation.
Heavy equipment, including two excavators and a backhoe were used while a police canine unit was also there to locate those who were trapped under the rubble.
Search and rescue efforts are likely to be hampered by rain and thunderstorms today as the Meteorological Department forecast temperatures at the hill resort to be between 17 C and 24 C.
The settlement, comprising wooden houses, is located next to several hillsides and is famous for its vegetable and fruit farms. Source: The Star Malaysia 8/8/2011
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UPDATED: Cameron Highlands landslide: Seven dead
CAMERON HIGHLANDS: Seven people, including a family of three, died in Sunday's landslide at Kampung Sungai Ruil, near Brinchang in Cameron Highlands, with two others surviving the incident.
A Fire and Rescue Department spokesman said the last victim was found at 1.21am Monday.
The two injured are being treated at the Ipoh General Hospital.
Following the recovery of all victims, search and rescue operations in the area haved been called off.
The incident caused three houses in the village to be buried while another three were partially submerged.
Villagers gathered at the Sultanah Hajjah Kalsom Hospital mortuary Monday morning to claim the victims' remains.
Cameron Highlands MP Datuk S.K. Devamany, who was at the scene, said this was the first time an incident of such magnitude had hit the village.
Locals said the village is the single largest orang asli village in Cameron Highlands. It has some 1,300 villagers.
Meanwhile, Tengku Mahkota of Pahang Tengku Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah announced that the Pahang state government will give RM5,000 to each of the families of the victims who died, while those injured will be given RM1,000 each. Source: The Star Malaysia 8/8/2011
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