GEORGE TOWN: Three people are dead, one injured while 10 others are feared still buried in a landslide at a construction site in Lengkok Lembah Permai, Tanjung Bungah, here today.
The bodies of two of the victims were found at 10 am and the rescuers are still trying to extricate the body of another victim that had been found.
The injured victim was sent to the Penang Hospital.
“The bodies of two Indonesians were found at 10 am,” said Penang Fire and Rescue Department director Saadon Moktar.
The victims’ identities have not been ascertained.
As at 2pm, the search and rescue (SAR) operations are still under way.
The landslide at the construction site of the affordable housing project reportedly occurred at 8.57 am and believed to be involving 14 victims.
Saadon said one of the victims was believed to be a local while the others were Indonesians, Rohingyas and Bangladeshis.
He said the SAR operations involved three zones on an area of 15 square metres and it was expected to take time as all the victims were buried deep under the clay soil and there was possibility of another landslide.
“The steep slope makes it quite difficult to dig the ground..some of the areas are considered unsafe,” he said. Saadon said the victims were working on the basement part of the building when the mishap happened.
“The collapsed area was the basement space,” he said.
Meanwhile, Penang City Council mayor Datuk Maimunah Mohd Sharif said the council had issued a stop work order for the project.
“We are waiting for the report from the engineer to know the exact cause of the incident,” she said when met at the scene.
Source: Bernama
