* Three people dead, 15 injured.
* 2,000 residents in the vicinity have been evacuated.
* Police airlifting people trapped in the area.
* PM says enough is enough, stop all hillside projects there.
* DPM says no more permits for hillside projects.
One of the bungalows hit by the Bukit Antarabangsa landslide.
KUALA LUMPUR: A massive landslide occurred in Bukit Antarabangsa at 4am Saturday.
Six people are still missing while three have been found dead, said Selangor Chief Police Officer Deputy Comm Datuk Khalid Abu Bakar.
The three victims were a Malay man, a Chinese woman and an Indian woman.
A total of 93 people have been rescued so far.
Khalid said the search and rescue operation will continue for 24 hours a day unless the rain gets too heavy.
“The rain is not helping. The area covered by landslide is more than 10 acres,” he told reporters at a press conference near the site on Saturday afternoon. Those who have been evacuated were sent to Sekolah Kebangsaan Ulu Klang. Food and shelter will be provided there.
Khalid said as of now, there are 14 teams with dogs and electronic equipment trying to locate the missing victims. “After 5pm, it will be 12 hours (since the incident happened early Saturday morning). We will start using heavy machinery to find those still stuck in the rubble.
“We’ll take careful measures when looking for the victims,” he said.
When asked if the rain would make it more dangerous, he said: “I don’t know. I hope there are no more landslides but I cannot be sure.”
At about noon, the search and rescue team had already identified the locations of two victims under the rubble. “We are working to get them out,” he said.
The landslide cut off access by the main road to the residential areas at Bukit Antarabangsa, trapping hundreds of residents.
As of 2.20pm Saturday, more than 2,000 residents have been evacuated, said Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Musa Hassan.
On Saturday morning, Khalid said the military had been roped in to create a slip road to enable trapped victims to be evacuated from the area.
As of 2.30pm Saturday the police had airlifted six people who needed immediate medical attention - two pregnant women, two elderly women with weak hearts, a man who is a stroke patient and another man who needed haemodialysis treatment.
The last man is said to have made it to the hospital just in time for his treatment.
Also affected are 14 houses in Jalan Bukit Mewah and Jalan Mewah Utama.
The 15 injured people and the remains of the dead have been rushed to the Kuala Lumpur Hospital.
A total of 160 police, army, Ampang Jaya City Council (MPAJ) and medical personnel are involved in the search and rescue operation.
According to BERNAMA, the injured were given first aid at the Addinniah surau before being sent to hospital. At least 12 ambulances were spotted at the scene on Saturday morning.
Bukit Antarabangsa assemblyman Azmin Ali said at the scene that earth movement continued to take place and that electricity supply to several housing estates in Bukit Antarabangsa was disrupted.
The site of Saturday's landslide is believed to be 1.5km from the Highland Towers apartment building which collapsed on Dec 11, 1993, killing 48 people.
Star Online
06/12/08
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