IPOH – lice said it will take between one or two days for rescuers to reach the two victims trapped under the debris of limestone quarry landslide at Keramat Pulai, Jalan Simpang Pulai-Cameron Highlands, here, today.
Perak police chief Datuk Mior Faridalathrash Wahid said the success of the search and rescue (SAR) operation depended largely on the weather and soil structure.
“There is still soil movement detected at the landslide area. The State Mineral and Geoscience Department (JMG) is conducting a study to determine whether we can start our SAR operation today.
“The Special Malaysia Disaster Assistance and Rescue Team (Smart) will also assist us to monitor the soil movement.
“We do not want our rescue team to get injured during the operation. We need to wait for clearance from JMG and Smart before we can retrieve the victims,” he said when met at the scene.
He said this was the first such incident here and explained that the company has a valid licence to run the quarry activities.
“The company has been given the green light to run quarry activities and there is no blasting scheduled today. We are also identifying the actual cause of the landslide,” he said.
Earlier, two men were reported to be buried under the debris of the landslide about 9.30am.
The trapped victims were identified as Itam Bah Lasoh, 43, and Kheow Loo Siew Soon, 49.
Meanwhile, the injured victims have been identified as Pan Tam, 38; and Mohd Razli Suhaimi, 35 who suffered a broken leg.
They were rushed to the Raja Permaisuri Bainun Hospital (HRPB) here for further treatment.
Source: NEW STRAITS TIMES
