Two houses affected in landslide on hillside in Papar

PAPAR: A landslide occurred at Kilometer 26.6 of Jalan Keningau-Kimanis early this morning.

According to Senior Fire Officer II from the Kimanis Fire and Rescue Station, Zainal Ali, in the incident at 1 am, a hilly area as high as 150 meters collapsed, involving two houses.

However, no casualties were reported.

"We received a call at 7.51 this morning and rushed to the scene.

"Investigation found the 150-meter-high collapse and destroyed two unoccupied houses.

"From our initial observations, if the rain continues, there will be more landslides in the nearby area," he said when met at the scene.

He said this was the first landslide incident along the Crocker Range, Kimanis.

A total of 10 Fire and Rescue personnel were deployed to the scene with the help of a team of policemen from the Papar District Police Headquarters and the Papar Public Works Department.

Preliminary investigations also found that there were nine houses erected near the rubble area and dozens of hillside houses along the range.

Meanwhile, Papar District Officer Ghulam Rasul Hapli said the landslide area was under the supervision of Sabah Parks and no construction was allowed along the range.

"It is understood that this area is not allowed to be occupied and is under the supervision of Sabah Parks.

"Any construction is an act of encroachment.

"The government also does not allow any construction of houses or any structures on slopes and hillsides.

"The next step is we will clean up the rubble area today and put up a landslide warning sign as a reminder to road users." Ghulam said.