At least sixteen people have been killed and seventeen missing in Malaysia after a landslide buried a campsite on Friday morning, local authorities said.
“As of 1pm (5am GMT) we counted 16 dead victims. The search is now focused on the remaining 17,” a Malaysian fire chief told reporters.
So far, 61 people have been found safe after the landslide near the town of Batang Kali, about 40 kilometers north of the capital Kuala Lumpur, said the town’s development minister, Nga Kor Ming.
Veronica Loi, a survivor, told AFP that she and her family were sleeping at the campsite when they heard a loud noise and saw the tent next to them “completely swept away.”
Hundreds of officers, including police and rescue workers, were standing at the entrance to the campsite when an excavator drove into the disaster area.
Nga Kor Ming revealed that this farm-based resort dubbed Father’s Organic Farm is operating “without a license” and that a sanction would be imposed if responsibility was taken in this drama.
Videos and photos posted online showed rescuers with flashlights and shovels searching for survivors in the rubble between tall fallen trees and smashed cars.
Landslides are commonplace in Malaysia due to recurring heavy rains at the end of the year. However, no episode of heavy rain was recorded overnight in Batang Kali.
The government has enacted strict laws to build slopes, but landslides continue to increase due to bad weather.
In March, four people lost their lives after a similar landslide buried their homes on the outskirts of Kuala Lumpur.
In 1993, a massive mudslide caused by torrential rain caused a 12-story apartment building to collapse, killing 48 people in one of Malaysia’s deadliest natural disasters.