Rain halts search, efforts to resume in the morning

 

Unfavourable weather and dangerous soil movements pose a challenge to firefighters and rescue workers, police said. (Bernama pic)

BATANG KALI: Search and rescue efforts for victims of the campsite landslide here have been suspended until the morning because of unfavorable weather.

The mission will resume at 8am, Hulu Selangor police chief Suffian Abdullah said.

“Today’s search and rescue operation was postponed after I discussed with the fire department. We found that from last afternoon until tonight the weather conditions were very unfavorable.

“Firefighters who are on the front line face challenges not only in terms of weather but also from dangerous conditions, especially at night, from soil movement in unstable areas,” he said.

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The landslide at 2.42am on Friday has left 24 people dead. Nine are still missing while 94 victims survived.

Selangor fire and rescue director Norazam Khamis said no soil movement was detected earlier this afternoon but the search team had been urged to remain alert because of the rainy weather, Bernama reported.

“The safety of the team is a priority at this time. In this situation, we instruct the members to reduce their movements and only stay within the sector locations and not make any aggressive movements.

“Currently, sector A is the riskiest spot because it is in a sloping area,” he said.

Norazam said the soil movement also provided an advantage in terms of the search.

“Most of the bodies were found at a depth of one to two meters, and due to the soil movement, the victims were pushed forward, so it made it easier for the team to find the victims with the help of an excavator,” he said.
He said rain halted the search operation for about an hour from 4.30pm before resuming at 5.30pm, but work had to be halted again at 8.15pm also because of heavy rain.

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A Bernama of the scene at 9pm showed heavy rain in the area, with telecommunications also affected. - FMT