M-cyclist lucky to be alive

HULU SELANGOR: Mohd Fareez Hanuddin, 21, the only victim in the landslide incident in Serendah, here, considers himself lucky to have come out alive with only minor injuries.

In the 1am incident, the gym assistant was riding home on his motorcycle from his workplace in Selayang as usual. The only difference was that the road was dark.

But, he was aware that a landslide had occurred a few minutes before he arrived in Jalan Melati.

From 1km away, he knew by instinct that he would make a right turn to Taman Idaman. However, he wasn’t aware of the 7m-deep sinkhole in front of him and plunged into it with his motorcycle.

“The bike landed on me. I was stuck between my bike and the mud. I could feel water flowing fast, and soil pouring onto my head.

“It was too dark. All I could think of was death. I thought I was going to be buried alive,” he said at the evacuation centre yesterday.

Fareez survived with a sprained wrist and ankle, thanks to three neighbours who rescued him after seeing him fall into the hole.

“I owe them a lot. They risked their own safety to save my life. One of them was also injured while saving me. It was no easy task getting out of that hole.”

He said he was lucky as he wore a helmet.

“Without the helmet, my neck would have been broken and I could be dead.”

He was sent to Selayang Hospital. A food stall and nine vehicles were “swallowed” by the landslide.

Selangor Fire and Rescue Department assistant director (operations) Mohd Sani Harul said the stall and vehicles, which were parked by the roadside, fell into a gap caused by the landslide at a nearby foothill.

He said six personnel from the Kuala Kubu Baru Fire and Rescue Department were despatched to the scene following an emergency call at 1am.

“We are checking to see whether there are any other victims who may be trapped. Search-and-rescue operations are being carried out.”

The main road to Taman Idaman has been closed temporarily and several areas here are facing water supply disruption due to the landslide, which caused a main pipeline to burst.