GEORGE TOWN, 22 Oct 2017:
A total of six bodies have been recovered as at 8am today in a landslide at the construction site of an affordable housing project at Lengkok Lembah Permai, Tanjung Bungah here – eight more are believed to have been still buried.
The search and rescue (SAR) operation to locate the buried victims was temporarily halted at 8pm yesterday and resumed this morning.
A spokesman at the Operations Centre of the Penang Fire and Rescue Department said though the operation was halted last night, the fire and rescue team, including the Special Malaysia Disaster Assistance and Rescue Team (SMART) and K9 Unit continued its search.
“The operation will continue until the last body is found,” he said.
The fourth and fifth body, identified as those of Indonesians Hosrin and Erwin were recovered at 11.31pm yesterday and 2.45am today, respectively.
The sixth body was recovered at 3.59am today, but its identity has yet to be ascertained.
The victims involved in the incident – which was said to have occurred within one minute – were a Malaysian, a Pakistani, a Rohingya, two Indonesians and nine Bangladeshis.
The bodies of two Bangladeshis recovered earlier were identified as Yunus and Hossain, and a Rohingya man known as Mamun. All three bodies recovered yesterday were sent to the Penang Hospital.
Another victim who sustained minor injuries was also sent to the same hospital.
Penang Fire and Rescue Department director Saadon Moktar said the hill slope next to the construction site collapsed at 8.57am when the 14 victims were carrying out construction work at the basement level.
The weather was fine when the incident occurred and no rain had been reported in the area since three days ago.
Penang police chief Datuk Chuah Ghee Lye said the preliminary focus was on the SAR operation by relevant agencies as the victims were believed to be buried up to a depth of 10m.
The SAR team comprised 130 personnel and members of the police; Fire and Rescue Department; Malaysian Civil Defence Force; Special Malaysia Disaster Assistance and Rescue Team (SMART); K9 Unit; Penang Hospital; Penang City Council; People’s Volunteer Corps (Rela) and non-governmental organisations.
Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng said a full investigation will be carried out by the Penang government into the landslide tragedy.
“I’m shocked by the tragedy, an investigation into the cause of the incident will be conducted, a full state inquiry,” he told reporters at the scene.
He said the matter would be discussed in the state executive council meeting next week.
Following the incident, Lim said he had instructed Penang City Council mayor Datuk Maimunah Mohd Sharif to investigate all construction projects in the state to ensure the safety of workers and to avoid a recurrence.
The following is the chronology of events of floods and landslides in Penang in the last two years:
- 14 Oct 2016 : A section of Jalan Lembah Permai-Mount Erskine in Tanjung Bungah collapsed and had to be closed, while a house about 50m from site was forced to be vacated by the authorities;
- 29 Oct 2016 : During Deepavali celebration, hundreds of houses, including a village near Kampung Melayu Air Itam were inundated following a heavy afternoon downpour in Penang.
- 29 Oct 2016: Nine people were trapped in a temple and a car near to a landslip in Air Itam, due to a three-hour heavy downpour in the area. The incident occurred on the road heading towards the Air Itam Dam near a Buddhist temple.
- 1 Nov 2016: Three days after flash floods hit George Town, more than 100 houses were inundated during a flash flood in Batu Maung.
- 7 Nov 2016: Flash floods occurred in Penang again, with several landslides in the city, one week after the Deepavali floods. The main road connecting the city centre and Teluk Bahang was closed to all traffic due to a landslide in Jalan Ujung Batu, Teluk Bahang.
- 15 Sept 2017: Heavy downpour since 3am caused flash floods in George Town in five districts in the state.
- 21 Sept 2017: Penang was hit by flash floods yet again and heavy downpour caused landslides and uprooted trees in Jalan Tun Sardon-Jalan Bukit Baru, Paya Terubong and it had blocked the main road leading to Balik Pulau and George Town.
- 21 Oct 2017: A landslide occurred at a construction site in Lengkok Lembah Permai, Tanjung Bungah about 8.57am.
– Bernama