Quarry rescue op to use control blasting - police

IPOH - The search and rescue (SAR) operation for two missing victims believed to be buried under the rubble of a limestone quarry landslide at Keramat Pulai, Jalan Simpang Pulai-Cameron Highlands here, which entered its eighth day today, was intensified with rescuers using control blasting.

Perak police chief Datuk Mior Faridalathrash Wahid said the method of fragmentation was done to clear the path blocked by large boulders to track the position of the two trapped victims.

"The SAR operation is still being carried out at the scene with close monitoring by slope experts from the Department of Minerals and Geosciences Malaysia," he said in a statement, here, last night.

Meanwhile, Mior Faridalathrash said police had provided appropriate welfare assistance to the next of kin of the two victims, including a heartwarming visit and donation of dry food supplies by Amanita policewomen (Aman Wanita Squad) at the Ipoh District Police Headquarters.

"Police are also updating the next of kin of the two victims with the progress of the SAR operation from time to time," he said.

In the meantime, he also advised the public not to spread undue information about the SAR operation or post videos on social media so as to affect the operation or even unsettle the next of kin of the victims in the tragedy.

The incident at 9.15 am last Tuesday left two men identified as Kheow Loo Siew Soon, 49, and Itam Lasoh, 43, trapped under rock debris, while two others, namely Mohd Razli Suhaimi, 35, and Pan Tam, 38, were injured. - BERNAMA