Camping trip turns into nightmare for families

 

Rescuers at the scene of the campsite landslide in Batang Kali, near Genting Highlands. (AP pic)

PETALING JAYA: A camping trip for a family of three took a tragic turn when the couple lost their only child, an eight-year-old boy, in a massive landslide that hit Batang Kali last night.

Relatives said the couple were nature lovers and had frequently visited Father’s Organic Farm during the school holidays. This time, however, the camping trip turned into a nightmare as a landslide had struck the camping site in the early hours of the morning.

The father is believed to have been discharged from hospital while his wife is undergoing further examination.

So far, 19 people, including children, are known to have died in the incident, with 14 people still missing in the landslide which occurred at about 2am today leaving 94 people trapped at three campsites.

The eight-year-old victim’s uncle, Luo, being comforted at Selayang Hospital. (China Press pic)

Family from Singapore survives

A family from Singapore were among those who survived.

Tee Yeow King, a Singapore permanent resident, said he sheltered his wife and two children under his body when he heard a loud rumbling sound when he was about to fall asleep.

“The sound got louder and it was nothing like I have heard before. It sounded like trees were being ripped apart and rocks crumbling. The sound seemed to be headed our way but it was too late to run out of our tent in the dark. It all happened very quickly,” he told the Singapore Straits Times newspaper.

“We were very lucky,” he said.

Tee, his wife, their son, aged seven, and daughter, aged three were unhurt and they managed to help a family whose child was partially buried in the mud. “We became scared again when we heard a second loud sound,” he said.

Their tent at Father’s Organic Farm was one of two which were untouched by the landslide. Three other tents on higher ground were flattened.

Some of the survivors, including the Tees, were evacuated from the site about an hour later, examined for medical treatment, and taken to Ulu Yam Bharu police station at dawn.

Tee thanked the Malaysian authorities and rescuers. “Their response was really fast and they tried their best to help and comfort us,” he said, according to the Straits Times. - FMT