Close watch on slopes
Rescuers sacrifice sleep to look for remaining landslide victims
All eyes are on the hillslopes as the year-end rainy season hits. The Public Works Department and the Geological Department are among the agencies that have conducted ground visits and soil studies. The Fire and Rescue Department meanwhile, is readying more equipment and manpower.
GEORGE TOWN: Rescuers from the Fire and Rescue Department, Royal Malaysian Police and Civil Defence Department are barely getting any sleep as they spend days and nights at the landslide area in Jalan Bukit Kukus, Paya Terubong, searching for survivors.
Penang Fire and Rescue Department deputy director Mohamad Shoki Hamzah said about 70 firemen were on duty at the scene each day and they only managed to catch a few minutes’ sleep during their break time.
Nine bodies were located while four people were injured in the tragedy last Friday.
The search and rescue operation, which turned into search and recover as the rescuers worked tirelessly to scour for victims buried under rocks and mud at the landslide area measuring about 150m by 60m, ended yesterday afternoon.
Penang Fire and Rescue Department director Saadon Moktar said the K-9 unit made a final round at the site and confirmed that there were no more victims at the site at 5.35pm.
Relating the five-day rescue effort, Mohamad Shoki said although the rescuers were allowed an hour’s lunch break, some of them cut it short to rejoin their comrades.
“Rainy weather at the start of the operations made the job harder as the ground was wet and muddy,” he said.
One fireman, who declined to be named, said it was their responsibility to bring the victims out no matter how difficult the task.
“We have to do our best with the training we have been given,” he said.
Penang Malaysia Civil Defence Force operation deputy director Mej Juddie Turusi said they were concerned about the safety of rescuers as there was still risk of land movement and further soil erosion.
“We had to call off the operation during bad weather and it caused more delays,” he said.
Seeing their struggles, the Buddhist Tzu Chi Merit Society Malaysia deployed more than 50 volunteers to provide aid to the rescuers, such as six meals a day, from breakfast to supper, said its commissioner Khoo Boo Leong.
The Seberang Prai Municipal Council and Penang Island City Council placed mobile toilets there while traffic policemen helped divert traffic on Jalan Paya Terubong.
On Friday, the landslide at the construction site where the Bukit Kukus Paired Road was being built brought down 12 containers used to house construction workers.
The dead are Indonesians Samsul Asman, 19, Bahtiar, 36, and Subaeri, 34, Bangladeshis Attrul, 35, Mithu Hossain, 30, Mustak Hossain, 25, Md Abd Jalil, 34, and Mohamad Uzzal, 33, as well as Myanmar national Khin Aye Khaing, 36.
Bangladeshi Shamim, 24, Indonesians Laduma, 46, Norazizah, 24, and Wakrini, 36, who is pregnant, were found with injuries.
A cat rescued from under the rubble on Saturday with both its rear legs broken succumbed to internal injuries yesterday.