Seven confirmed dead in Penang landslide

The Fire and Rescue Department has resumed its search for the remaining workers trapped in a landslide at a construction site in Tanjung Bungah, Penang.

The search effort, which was called off in the wee hours due to difficult working conditions, continued at 8am today.

To date, a total of seven bodies have been found, with the last body being discovered at 9.56am.

Two of the dead have yet to be identified. The other dead include one from Myanmar and two from Bangladesh and Indonesia respectively.

It was initially believed that 14 workers were buried by the landslide.

However, Berita Harian reported that three of the 14 workers who were on site at the time managed to escape.

This was confirmed by Fire and Rescue Department assistant director-general (operation and rescue) Edwin Galan Teruki.

He was quoted as saying that the three survivors, two from Bangladesh and one from Myanmar, were being treated at Penang General Hospital.

This leaves four more workers unaccounted for.

Apart from the Fire and Rescue Department, the Civil Defense Force, the Special Malaysia Disaster Assistance and Rescue Team (Smart) and Rela are also involved in the search.

[More to follow]

-Mkini