21 dead, others missing after landslide at a campground in Malaysia
BATANG KALI, Malaysia — A thunderous crush of soil and debris killed at least 21 people at a campground in Malaysia on Friday, with rescuers digging through the mud for 12 more who were feared buried in the landslide.
More than 90 people were sleeping on an organic farm when the dirt tumbled from a road about 100 feet above the site and covered about three acres. Two of the dead were found locked in an embrace, according to the state fire department chief.
Authorities told local media that the landowners did not have a license to run a campground. At least seven people were hospitalized, and dozens more were rescued unharmed, said district police chief Suffian Abdullah.
Leong Jim Meng, 57, told the English-language daily New Straits Times that he and his family were awakened by a loud bang and felt the earth move at the campsite in Batang Kali, about 30 miles north of the capital, Kuala Lumpur.
“My family and I were trapped as soil covered our tent. We managed to escape to a car park area and heard a second landslide happening,” he told the newspaper. He said it was surprising because there had been no heavy rain in recent days, only light drizzle.
It is monsoon season in Malaysia, and the country’s local government development minister, Nga Kor Ming, said all campsites nationwide near rivers, waterfalls and hillsides would be closed for a week for safety assessments.
A Dutch court has convicted two Russians and a Ukrainian of the murders of 298 people who died in the 2014 downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17. The fourth defendant, a Russian, was acquitted.
The Selangor state fire department posted photos of rescuers with flashlights digging through soil and rubble with an excavator and shovels in the early hours of Friday. More than 400 people as well as tracking dogs were involved in the search-and-rescue efforts.
Fire chief Norazam Khamis was cited by the Free Malaysia Today news portal as saying that two of the dead were “hugging each other” and believed to be a mother and daughter.
An estimated 16 million cubic feet of debris — enough to fill 180 Olympic-sized swimming pools — hit the campsite, Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad, the minister for natural resources, environment and climate change, told local media.
Some families with young children who were rescued took refuge at a nearby police station. Access to roads leading to the area has been blocked.
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Suffian, the district police chief, said the victims entered the area, a popular recreational site for locals to pitch or rent tents from the farm, on Wednesday. The campsite is not far from the Genting Highlands resort, a popular tourist destination with theme parks and Malaysia’s only casino.
After visiting the site late Friday, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim announced a special payment to the families of those killed as well as survivors.
Nga told local media that the campsite has been operating illegally for the last two years. The operator has government approval to run an organic farm but has no license for camping activities, he said. If found guilty, Nga warned, the camp operator could face up to three years in prison and a fine.
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