Deadly Ampang Landslide Took Four Lives, Only One Victim Managed to Survive
According to The Star, a landslide in Taman Bukit Permai 2 on Thursday (10 March) claimed four lives while an 84-year-old victim managed to escape with light injuries.
A search and rescue(SAR) operation began for the five victims when nine firefighters from the Pandan Fire and Rescue station arrived at the scene after receiving a distress call at 5.54 pm yesterday.
The first victim, an 84-year-old man was pulled out at 6.54 pm. He escaped with minor injuries but his wife, however, was found dead at 7.53 pm before her body was pulled out at 9.15 pm.
About an hour and a half after that, at 10.58 pm, the body of the third victim, a male resident, was extricated from the debris.
The SAR operation ended at 2 am after Ampang Jaya district police chief ACP Mohamad Farouk Eshak confirmed that rescuers had found the bodies of the last two victims, both males, one of whom was a worker of Pengurusan Air Selangor Sdn Bhd (Air Selangor).
Their bodies were found at 12.46 am and 1.59 am respectively.
For now, authorities have ordered the evacuation of 48 houses in the vicinity of the landslide area in Ampang. Selangor Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Amirudin Shari said that the evacuation would also allow authorities to inspect the area’s safety.
“This area has been declared as a disaster zone in case there is further soil movement. The Public Works Department and the Malaysian Institute of Public Works are conducting studies to check the soil structure. This should take about three to five days,” he said during a visit to the area today (March 11).
Amirudin also said the Ampang Jaya Municipal Council (MPAJ) had covered the slope with canvas and checks has confirmed that there were no logging activities or soil removal works above the slope.
He then announced an RM10,000 cash aid from the state government to the families of the deceased.
During the incident, residents in the area heard a loud bang caused by two landslides that occurred in succession during heavy rain. The incident was also caught on camera by residents as it happened. Take a look at some of the clips, here:
A landslide has occurred at Taman Bukit Permai in Ampang KL around 6pm this afternoon damaging over a dozen houses and trapping at least three people 🎥net/reports pic.twitter.com/Fk7APN3vZN
— Kuala Lumpur Reporter 🇲🇾 (@KL_Reporter) March 10, 2022
One person is confirmed dead following a landslide at Taman Bukit Permai in Ampang today.
Fifteen houses were affected with two completely inundated by soil.
📸 The Vibes reader pic.twitter.com/sGChAs0Yj8
— TheVibes.com (@thevibesnews) March 10, 2022