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BATANG KALI – Rescuers at the landslide site here today faced a new challenge in their efforts to locate nine more victims who are still missing.
Besides the softening of the ground, rescuers also face squelchy soil as deep as 16m.
“The depth is the highest recorded so far because of the rain yesterday,” said Selangor Fire and Rescue Department assistant director (operations) Hafisham Mohd Noor.
In the 2.42am incident Friday, a landside measuring almost 300m long and 70m high came crashing onto the campsite located along Jalan Genting-Batang Kali.
As of noon today, nine victims were still missing while 24 out of 94 people who were at the campsite were confirmed dead.
Hafisham said today’s search-and-rescue operation, which started at 8am, involves 135 rescuers from various agencies focussing their search on the Sector C area (Riverside) and Sector A (Hillview), as well as areas where search efforts have not begun.
“We will dig until we reach the bottom and separate the excavated soil to another spot. I hope the effort will show results as yesterday we were a bit disappointed because, despite our efforts, we still failed to locate any of the missing victims,” he said.
Speaking to reporters at the scene of the tragedy today, he said the rescue team also used eight excavators and several K9 dogs belonging to the Fire and Rescue Department, police, and the armed forces to assist in the search.
To ensure the safety of rescuers in the field, Hafisham said a safety officer position has been created to monitor any soil movement or landslip.
“The safety officer will blow his whistle to alert all personnel at ground zero (field) to save themselves in case of an emergency.
“…but we were informed yesterday by the Survey and Mapping Department that the risk of another landslip happening was low. With that information, we are relieved to proceed with our work today,” he said. – Bernama, December 19, 2022