According to officials, a landslide slammed a campsite at a Malaysian farm on Friday, killing at least 16 people. Rescuers are now searching for around 20 individuals who are still missing.
Reporters were informed by Nor Hisham Mohammad, director of the operations section at the fire and rescue service, that “16 casualties have died as of 1 pm (05:00 GMT). The remaining 17 are the current focus of the search.
61 individuals have so far been discovered safe following the predawn avalanche near the town of Batang Kali, just outside the capital Kuala Lumpur, and close to a mountain casino resort, according to Nga Kor Ming, the local government development minister.
According to Veronica Loi, who was camped overnight at the scene and escaped the landslide, her family was sound asleep when they suddenly heard a huge noise.
“We saw the tent beside us was totally gone,” she said.
An excavator was spotted entering the area from the main road, and hundreds of government workers, including police and rescuers, were visible at the gates leading to the camping property.
The “Father’s Organic Farm” farm, where the campsite was located, changed its Facebook profile image to all black on Friday.
According to Nga, the “campsite is operating without a licence,” and if found guilty by the court, the operators will face punishment.
Online videos and images showed massive trees that had fallen and cars that had been crushed, as well as search and rescue workers looking for survivors beside a collapsed structure while wearing headlamps and using shovels.
Malaysia frequently has severe rainfall towards the end of the year, which often causes landslides. However, Batang Kali did not see any significant overnight rainfall.
Despite the government’s rigorous regulations on hillside building, landslides have continued to happen during periods of harsh weather.
Four individuals perished in a major landslide that buried their homes in a Kuala Lumpur suburb in March as a result of torrential rainfall.
One of the deadliest of these instances occurred in 1993 when a 12-story residential structure outside of the city collapsed due to a massive mudslide triggered by torrential rain, killing 48 people.