Batang Kali: Landslide hits campsite - at least ten dead in Malaysia

At least ten people have died in a landslide in Malaysia, including a five-year-old boy.

Batang Kali: Landslide hits campsite - at least ten dead in Malaysia

At least ten people have died in a landslide in Malaysia, including a five-year-old boy. Around 25 were initially still missing, as the local civil protection authority announced on Friday. A campsite at an organic farm in Batang Kali, about 50 kilometers north of the capital Kuala Lumpur, was hit by the landslide during the night.

It is estimated that more than 90 Malaysians were there at the time, the "Tagesschau" quoted district police chief Suffian Abdullah as saying. The campsite, which is not far from a popular holiday resort, is mainly used by locals.

More than 50 people could be saved, as the authority further announced on Twitter. According to the British "Guardian", eight of them were injured and taken to hospital. "I heard a loud noise, like thunder, but it was the stones falling," the newspaper quoted a 22-year-old camper as saying. "We felt like the earth was falling around us."

According to information from the Bernama news agency, Malaysia's Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim wanted to travel to the scene of the accident on Friday. Environment Minister Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad tweeted: "I pray that the missing victims will be found safely soon." About 400 helpers were involved in the search and rescue operation. The search for the missing will continue.

According to the head of the fire and rescue services in the state of Selangor, the mass of earth slid from a height of about 30 meters from a roadside onto the square. The disaster came unexpectedly because there had been no heavy rainfall in the past few days.

Sources: "Tagesschau", "The Guardian"

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