Kota Kinabalu: The bodies of 13 victims of landslides including five children, following heavy and prolonged rainfall across Sabah from Sept 13 to 15, have been recovered.
The flood and landslide disaster affected thousands of people, with Penampang being the worst-hit.
In Papar, two landslides in different villages destroyed four houses, leaving five dead, on Monday.
In the first incident, Sabah Fire and Rescue Department Director Mohd Pisar Aziz said 16 personnel led by Papar Fire Station Chief Rozlan Osman rushed to Kampung Marahang Tuntul after receiving a distress call at 9.20am.
Upon arrival, he said the team immediately carried out a Search and Rescue (SAR) operation for three victims - a 32-year-old woman, a 10-year-old girl and a six-year-old boy – who were reported to have been buried under the debris.
The mother (who was hugging her son) was found at 2.18pm, but their bodies were extricated at 4.20pm and 4.25pm, respectively, while the third victim was found at 8.45pm, nearly 12 hours after the SAR operation began.
All three victims were pronounced dead at the scene by medical officers.
In the second case, Pisar said another team comprising nine personnel rushed to Kg Mook after receiving a call at 10.02am following another landslide that destroyed three houses.
He said the bodies of two victims - a 38-year-old woman and an 11-year-old boy - were recovered and pronounced dead by medical officers at the scene.
All the bodies were handed to police for further action.
In Inanam, a landslide in Kampung Cenderakasih, Kolombong, around 9.15am on Monday, buried a house and killed seven people.
Kota Kinabalu Police Chief ACP Kasim Muda said the final two victims, a 24-year-old woman and her nine-year-old child, were located in the afternoon, following an earlier report by the Sabah Fire and Rescue Department that five bodies had been recovered.
The victims comprised three boys and one girl, aged between two and nine, along with two women and one man aged between 25 and 50.
Four men survived the incident, one of whom sustained a broken leg.
Kasim said the victims were found between 12.30pm and 3.45pm, after which the search and rescue operation was called off.
“The victims were part of a household of nine, while two others, also family members, were staying over at the time,” he told reporters at the scene.
He said all seven victims were pronounced dead at the scene by medical personnel, and their remains were taken to Queen Elizabeth Hospital for further action.
Kasim added that rescuers encountered challenges in retrieving the bodies, as they were buried under debris estimated to be between two and three metres deep, along with fallen trees and rubbish.
“We had to use an excavator to clear the debris before manually extracting the victims,” he said.
He confirmed that the incident occurred on private land and authorities have since ordered residents in the area to evacuate immediately to prevent further incidents.
On Sept 12, the body of an elderly man who was buried in a landslide in Kampung Sarapung Kolopis was found.