2 dead, 51 missing in landslide at Malaysia campground

PTI, Dec 16, 2022, 8:06 AM IST

In this photo provided by Civil Defense Department, Civil Defense personnel search for survivors buried after a landslide hit a campsite in Batang Kali, Malaysia, Friday, Dec. 16, 2022. (Credit: Malaysia Civil Defence via AP )

Kuala Lumpur: A landslide on Friday at a tourist campground in Malaysia left two people dead and authorities said 51 people were feared buried at the site on an organic farm outside the capital of Kuala Lumpur.

A total of 79 people were believed to have been at the campsite in Batang Kali in central Selangor state, around 50 kilometres (31 miles) north of Kuala Lumpur, when the incident occurred, Malaysia’s fire and rescue department said in a statement.

The campsite, where people can pitch tents or rent them from the farm, is popular with locals.

A child and a woman were found dead, a fire department official told The Associated Press.

Three people were injured while rescuers were searching for the estimated 51 missing people, the department said.

Another 23 people have been rescued.

Selangor Fire and Rescue Department chief Norazam Khamis was reported by Bernama news agency as saying that firefighters began arriving at the scene half an hour after receiving a distress call at 2.24 am.

The landslide fell from an estimated height of 30 metres (98 feet) and covered an area of about three acres (1.2 hectare), the department said.

It posted pictures of rescuers with flashlights digging through soil and rubble in the early hours of the morning.

The campsite is located on an organic farm not far from the Genting Highlands hill resort, a popular tourist destination with theme parks and Malaysia’s only casino.

Bernama posted a video of some families with young children who were rescued taking refuge at a police station nearby.