BATANG KALI – More than 80% of the collapsed area at the Father’s Organic Farm campsite in Gohtong Jaya, here has been checked by rescuers so far in their search for the remaining missing nine victims.
Selangor Fire and Rescue Department director Datuk Norazam Khamis said the softening ground and rainy weather contributed to an underground water reservoir which has caused difficulties in the search-and-rescue operation, now in its fourth day.
He said that although only 20% of the search area remains, the safety of the rescuers should also be taken into account.
“The soil here is really soft and, coupled with rainwater, it causes the soil structure to become moist and weak, it is difficult to move in this kind of condition,” he said.
So far, a total of 135 rescuers have been deployed at the site in collaboration with various agencies to search for the remaining nine victims.
The landslide tragedy that occurred at 2.42am last Friday has so far seen 61 survivors, 24 dead, and nine victims still missing out of a total of 94 people.
Norazam said that the search operation has been divided into three sectors – namely sector A (Hill view), Sector B (Farm View), and Sector C (River View) – involving the cooperation of five main government agencies and several other support agencies. .
“Since the first day of (the search), we have been using an excavator which greatly facilitates our work because it can be used continuously and reduce manpower when digging into the ground.
“Rescuers have carried out detection and search for victims according to the area of the collapse, that is from the top of the ruins to the area below,” he said. – Bernama, December 19, 2022
