Malaysia: At least 24 people have been killed after a massive landslide through a holiday campsite.
Rescuers are still scrambling to find survivors buried under the mound of dirt after mud swept through the site in Malaysia as campers slept.
Up to 400 people have taken part in the search effort across the site campsite in Batang Kali with nine people still registered as missing.
So far, officials have recovered bodies including 12 women and 6 children.
Authorities say at least seven people have been hospitalised and dozens more have been rescued unharmed.
And of those caught in the slide, 61 were safe, according to the Selangor state fire and rescue department.
Chief Norazam Khamis said chances of more survivors being found were slim, given the weight of mud pressing down on the site.
But search and rescue operations resumed for a second day earlier on today, after a halt overnight due to heavy rain.
A total of 135 responders and seven rescue dogs continued to scour through thick mud and downed trees this morning, as an initial investigation showed that an embankment of about 450,000 cubic metres of earth had collapsed on top of the site.
The earth fell from an estimated height of 30 metres and covered an area of roughly an acre of land, reports suggests.
Nor Shahidah Mohd Nazer, a geology expert from the National University of Malaysia, described the landslide as “unprecedented” under the circumstances — involving a gentler slope and not following typical heavy rain.
She said the slope could have been partly affected by monsoon rain from days or even weeks ago.
“Since the soil mass was initially wet and saturated, it behaved as a semi-liquid,” she said.
Landslides are common in Malaysia after heavy rains, which are regular at the end of the year.
However, no heavy rains were recorded in the area on the night of the disaster.
Leong Jim Meng who was staying with his family at the campsite, described feeling the Earth move, before hearing a loud bang when the landslide hit.
“My family and I were trapped as soil covered our tent,” he told the New Straits Times .
“We managed to escape to a carpark area and heard a second landslide happening.”
Landslides are common in Malaysia, but typically only after heavy rain.
Flooding occurs often, with about 21,000 people displaced last year by torrential rain in seven states.
Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said on Friday the government would provide aid to families of every person killed , while survivors would receive money from the state.
But, according to local government development minister Nga Kor Ming, the camp site had been operating illegally and may now face prosecution in the wake of the tragedy.
He claimed that the operator had government approval to run an organic farm, but was not permitted to run camping activities.
If found guilty of violating the law, the owner could be jailed up to three years or fined up £9,306, BBC reports
The Forestry Department in several states have now ordered the closure of campsites and hiking and off-road trails considered as high risk.
The search for survivors is still ongoing.
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