Mother and kids found hugging each other, buried beneath debris
HULU SELANGOR - Mother and kids were found hugging each other, buried in the landslide in one of the three campsites at Jalan Genting Highlands-Batang Kali here on Friday.
A Fire and Rescue Department officer who participated in the search and rescue (SAR) said the search team found several bodies which had been buried in the landslide.
"It was heart-breaking to see so many lifeless body buried. I felt their pain and sorrow during the SAR mission.
"Even more saddening to see was when we found a mother and her two kids, hugging each other, buried deep in the soil," the officer who requested to remain anonymous said when met by Sinar Harian on Friday.
The officer said this was the worst incident which had taken place during his service, involving in SAR operations," he added.
Meanwhile, Selangor Fire and Rescue Department (JBPM) director, Datum Norazam Khakis said the firemen were facing difficulties in bringing out 19 victims who died in the incident.
He said victims were buried at least four-metres deep in the soil, making it hard to excavate.
"We also used tracking dog unit to track down all the victims.
"The possible position of the victims from their campsite to the location where they were found is about 50 to 100 meters," he added.
Norazam said that the SAR team also found that there were more occurrences of landslide at the place between 7 am to 9 am.
"However, the situation is stable and under control until this evening, but we are still on alert because there is a flow of river water coming out of the landslide.
"We are also looking at the movement of the ground, if it is not safe we will ask the rescue team to evacuate," he said.
However, he said that his team had discussed with the relevant agencies and decided to continue the SAR operation for 24 hours.
"However, it depends on the weather conditions. If it rains, we will stop immediately.
"So far, we have enough rescuers for SAR mission and there will be replacement batch next day," he added.
