Malaysia landslide: Search for missing campers resumes

Rescue workers on Saturday resumed the search for 12 campers still missing after a deadly landslide in Malaysia killed 21 people including five children.

Rescue operations used earth excavators, among other tools, to sift through the rubble while tracking dogs looked for signs of life or bodies buried in the soil.

Roughly 450,000 cubic meters of debris — equivalent to six Olympic size swimming pools — hit 94 people sleeping at an unlicenced campsite on an organic farm in Batang Kali on Friday. While 61 of the campers were safe, a dozen remain unaccounted for, according to the Malaysia National Disaster Management Agency. Seven people were hospitalized to treat injuries.

The search at the farm, some 50 kilometers (30 miles) away from Kuala Lumpur, was halted overnight for a few hours due to rain. 

Response to the incident

Authorities said that while the farm was licensed, it did not have permission to run a campsite and had been doing so illegally for the last two years. It was a popular vacation site for locals.

The disaster department was unable to pinpoint the exact reason for the landslide but said it suspected that underground movement of water during the year-end rainy season had made the soil unstable.

As a result, the country's forest department has ordered campsites near water bodies to shut down for assessment, for a week. 

Survivors recalled their tribulation in how they heard a thunderous noise and felt the ground move before dirt poured over their tents.

On Friday night, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim announced an aid of 10,000 Ringgit (€2,125) to the family members of every deceased person and 1,000 Ringgit to the survivors.

mk/sms (AP, Reuters)