KUALA LUMPUR – Personnel from the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Academy (MACA) have been evacuated from its building at Jalan Duta here, following a massive landslide at the building’s entrance this afternoon.
In a statement today, the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission confirmed that it had evacuated a total of 45 people from the entire area.
“MACA confirmed that 45 people, including 22 officers, 16 cleaners, and seven occupants at its quarters (officers’ families) have been safely evacuated from the MACA building.
“The evacuation was done based on the advice of the Fire and Rescue Department and will continue until the area involved is declared safe,” the commission stated.
MACA also stated that it is ready for further instructions from the authorities and will make announcements from time to time.
“In relation to the incident, MACA urges the public not to make any speculations and give space to the authorities to carry out further investigations to identify the cause of the landslide.”
The disaster, which affected 120 square feet of the academy’s main entrance and guardhouse, is believed to have happened at around 1pm today.
Officers from Kuala Lumpur City Hall and Public Works Department (PWD) had also conducted slope monitoring works.
Sentul police chief Beh Eng Lai accompanied reporters to the incident scene, where approximately 10 police officers and firemen were on duty.
He assured that investigations into the cause of the disaster are underway.
Beh later informed reporters that initial forensic findings by PWD indicate that a likely cause of the landslide was a broken underground pipe.
Noting that the department had found evidence of a broken pipe at the scene, he said that this could have contributed to water pooling and led to the eventual landslide.
As the skies darkened with impending rain, authorities instructed media personnel to vacate the area due to concerns that a heavy downpour might aggravate the landslide. – The Vibes, April 25, 2023
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