KUALA LAMPUR \u2013 December 16 (ONLINE) At least 19 people including children have been killed after a landslide hit a holiday campsite in Malaysia’s Selangor state.<\/p>\n
Families were sleeping in their tents when the landslide happened around 03:00 Friday (19:00 GMT Thursday) at a farm stay in Batang Kali township.<\/p>\n
Hundreds of rescuers spent Friday digging through mud to find survivors.
\nThe farm’s managers said at least 30 children and 51 adults were registered for an overnight stay.<\/p>\n
Local media reported that Malaysian authorities said fourteen people were still missing, and that about 700 officials are involved in the search and rescue.<\/p>\n
The Malaysian fire department said at lest four children were among the dead.<\/p>\n
More than 20 primary school teachers and their family members were there, according to a New Straits Times report.<\/p>\n
Local Government Development Minister Nga Kor Ming reported that the camping site had been operating illegally.<\/p>\n
Mr Nga also said he ordered all “high-risk” camping sites – those located along rivers, waterfalls and hillsides – across the country to be closed for seven days with immediate effect.<\/p>\n
It’s unclear what triggered the landslide, which happened in a forested hilly area next to the side of the road in Batang Kali, close to the Genting Highland region.<\/p>\n
Locals reported some light rain, but no heavy downpours or any earthquakes in the lead up to it. However, monsoon season is currently underway in Malaysia.<\/p>\n
The landslide began up a slope more than 30m (100ft) higher than the campsite, and rolled through an acre of land.<\/p>\n
Pictures posted online by Malaysia’s rescue agencies showed crews of helmeted workers clambering up uneven ground, past uprooted trees and other debris.<\/p>\n
One camper, Teh Lynn Xuan, said she and her mother had survived, but her brother had died and another brother had been taken to hospital with injuries.<\/p>\n
“We felt the tents becoming unstable and soil was falling around us,” she told Malaysian newspaper Berita Harian.<\/p>\n
“My mother and I managed to crawl out and save ourselves.”<\/p>\n
She had been camping with a big group of more than 40 people, she said.
\nAnother survivor, Leong Jim Meng, said he heard an explosion before the ground began to shift.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
KUALA LAMPUR \u2013 December 16 (ONLINE) At least 19 people including children have been killed after a landslide hit a holiday campsite in Malaysia’s Selangor state. Families were sleeping in their tents when the landslide happened around 03:00 Friday (19:00 GMT Thursday) at a farm […]<\/p>\n
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