Witness hears loud noise before campsite buried by landslide

BATANG KALI: "I heard a loud noise like the sound of thunder before seeing the campsite at Zone A buried under piles of earth," said a witness of the landslide which buried a campsite at the Father's Organic Farm, Gohtong Jaya, here early today.

Teh Lynn Xuan, 22, said it happened at about 2 am as she was preparing to go to sleep in a tent that she shared with her mother at Zone B Hill Top.

The woman said she and about 20 relatives and friends from Melaka, Selangor and Singapore had been at the camp site since three days ago for the school holidays.

"The tent I was staying with my mother collapsed and we were lucky to get out in time and go to higher ground. Everything happened so quickly," she said when met by reporters at the Hulu Yam Bharu police station near here today.

Another victim, Leong Jim Meng, 57, said prior to that, he had felt the area at the campsite shaking and then heard the loud rumbling sound of the earth.

"My family and I were trapped because our tent was buried, but we managed to get out and go to a nearby parking area before calling the authorities," he said.

Meanwhile, another victim who only wanted to be known as Lee, 28, said it was drizzling at that time and he only realised there was a landslide after hearing a loud noise.

"I saw the camp site at Zone A buried by the landslide and rushed to the scene and managed to pull out two people, a woman and her child," he said.

According to the police, about 100 people are believed trapped in the landslide and currently a search and rescue operation is being carried out with the assistance of the K9 tracker dog unit, the Emergency Medical Rescue Service (EMRS) from the Sentosa, Ampang, Pandan, Kota Anggerik, Kajang dan Andalas fire and rescue stations and the Special Tactical Operation and Rescue Team (STORM).

-- BERNAMA