Seven die in Cameron landslide - Seven people, including a family of three, died after their homes at Kampung Sungai Ruil in Cameron Highlands were...

Seven die in Cameron landslide


The landslide that hit the kampung in Cameron Highlands.

Seven people, including a family of three, died after their homes at Kampung Sungai Ruil in Cameron Highlands were swept away by landslide.

Two others were seriously injured in the 5.50pm incident on Sunday, which saw victims being buried under 50m of mud.

They are now being treated at Hospital Raja Permaisuri Bainun, Ipoh.

While the first victim was pulled out at 6.15pm, the last victim was uncovered at 1.21am Monday.

Following that, the search and rescue opeations had been called off.

Prior to the incident, there was a downpour in the area.

The incident caused three houses in the village to be buried while another three were partially submerged.

The Pahang state government had ordered the immediate evacuation of 577 people as their houses had been classified as unstable.

Villagers had gathered at the Hospital Sultanah Hajjah Kalsom mortuary early in the morning to claim the victims remains.
On Sunday, rescue efforts were hampered by the mud.

Assisted by two excavators and a backhoe, rescue works were temporarily disrupted as authorities are not sure where the victims are located.
Dogs from the canine unit had to be called in to help determine the exact location of the victims.

Cameron Highlands MP Datuk S.K. Devamany, who was at the scene, said this was the first time incident of such magnitude hit the village.

“While it is normal to have landslides in Cameron, it is however the first time landslide of such a scale to hit the village,” he said.

Locals said the village was the single largest orang asli village in Cameron Highlands.

It has some 1,300 villagers.

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