Man pulls son’s body from earth
Asman Hamid’s heart broke when he realised the body he helped pull out of the landslide in Jalan Bukit Kukus, Paya Terubong here on Friday was that of his son, Samsul, 19.
“Asman was with police officers and firemen, who were searching for his son. He dug and pulled Samsul out,” the victim’s aunt, Ramziah, said at the Forensic Department at Penang Hospital here yesterday.
She said when Asman, 62, realised it was his son he had pulled out, he hugged the body tight.
“They (Asman and his wife) accompanied Samsul’s body in a police truck to the hospital.”
She said the family would take Samsul’s body back to Indonesia once the post-mortem was done.
Asman, looking dishevelled, shoeless, his body covered in mud, said he received a call from one of Samsul’s friends, who asked him to go to the site of the landslide.
“His friend called. I learnt about the incident after Friday prayers.
“When I arrived home, my wife was crying.”
He said he was a permanent resident while Samsul had arrived and been working in Malaysia for two months.
“Samsul and his siblings lived with their grandmother in Buton Tengah, Sulawesi. He was the only one who came to Malaysia.”
Mohamad Abdul Kalam said his nephew, Attarul, was the sole breadwinner of his family in Bangladesh.
The 35-year-old received his passport only three days ago, which enabled him to work legally in Malaysia.
Mohamad said his nephew wanted to hold a thanksgiving feast in his village in Bangladesh.
“Attarul had contacted his wife to tell her his wish to have a thanksgiving feast. When I called her, she was cooking the feast... she fainted when she heard the news.”
Rescuers found two more bodies yesterday, bringing the death toll to at least four, with five others missing.
The first to be found was that of a Myanmar woman, identified as Khin Aye Khaing, 33.
Fire and Rescue Department search and rescue (SAR) deputy commander Mohd Tarmizi Mat Jaafar said the body was found at 1.30am.
He said the SAR operation was joined by Special Malaysia Disaster Assistance and Rescue Team (SMART).
“The K9 unit found a spot at the location. We believe that there are victims buried there and the search is ongoing.”
The fourth body, that of an Indonesian man, was found by tracker dogs at 11.55am, under one of the containers where workers used to stay.
SAR incident commander Mornin Mamat said there was no possibility of survivors.
He said the operation focused on the search for bodies buried under the rubble.
“The operation is made more difficult due to the soft soil following the rain this (yesterday) morning.
“Soil-movement detectors, provided by the SMART team, are being used.
“We will move our men to safer ground in the event of soil movements.”
State Fire and Rescue Department director Saadon Moktar said the department had received two more reports over the disappearance of three Bangladeshi men from their colleagues.
“They are reported missing and are feared buried.
“They were identified as Mohamad Abd Jalil, Ujal and Rahat.”