Eight bodies recovered
Eight bodies have been recovered and a search operation is ongoing for the other victims, undertaken by a 130-strong team comprising personnel from police, Civil Defence Force, Special Malaysian Disaster Assistance and Rescue Team from Putrajaya, Canine Detection Unit, Penang Hospital, Penang Island City Council, People’s Volunteer Corps and nongovernmental organisations.
Six of the bodies have been identified as Hussin and Yunus (Bangladesh), Hosrin and Erwin (Indonesia) and Elyas and Yusof (Myanmar).
Bangladeshi honorary consul Datuk Shaik Ismail Allaudin urged the authorities to contact his office to expedite the clearance of documents and the handling of the bodies.
Meanwhile, the brother of a Pakistani construction worker who is still missing said he hopes rescuers will find his sibling soon.
Farzand Ali, 23, said he had rushed to Penang from Kluang, Johor after receiving news that his 21-year-old brother, Raza Ali, was missing in the incident.
Gerakan president Datuk Seri Mah Siew Keong said he was disappointed with the Penang government for its reluctance to take a serious view of hillside development projects.
Mah said if they had listened to the opinion and objections of Tanjung Bungah assemblyman Teh Yee Cheu, the tragic incident could have been averted.
“Teh had on numerous occasions voiced his objections to the many hillside development projects but they (state government) brushed those objections aside,” Mah told reporters at the party’s Deepavali event in Taman Batu.