Four dead after flood at Cameron Highlands dam

CAMERON HIGHLANDS — Three foreigners have died after the gates of the Sultan Abu Bakar hydro-electric dam in Cameron Highlands were opened yesterday, flooding the surrounding areas, The Star newspaper reported. About 80 houses on the fringes of the Bertam River were also swept away by strong currents.

Cameron Highlands district police chief Mohd Zahari Wan Busu said the water in the Ringlet area had to be released to prevent the dam from bursting following continuous rain since 7pm on Tuesday.

About 100 vehicles were badly damaged in the incident.

The foreign workers who died were Bangladeshi Mohd Jahangir Alam, in his 30s, and Indonesians Kesmat, 46, and Jarwati, 17.

A Malaysian, 51-year-old Tam Tuck Choi, died of an apparent heart attack on his way to hospital. A local was injured and taken to hospital.

Teja assemblyperson Chang Lih Kang, whose constituency is located adjacent to Cameron Highlands, wrote a post about the incident on his Facebook page: “Mud flood due to opening of ... flood gates. I am at the scene now, death toll might rise.”

Mr Mohd Zahari said a search and rescue operation was carried out at 7.30am yesterday, with 243 rescue personnel involved in the operation.

Cameron Highlands Fire and Rescue Services Department chief Yusri Abdullah Sani was quoted by the Malaysiakini website as saying: “A siren at the Sultan Abu Bakar dam in Ringlet was sounded about midnight to alert residents that water would be released.

“The first gate was lifted by four inches. Twenty minutes after, the siren was sounded. Those at the dam then released more water from the first gate at 1am, followed by a full release at 2.43am.”

There were claims that the authorities did not give enough warning before the dam waters were released.

Mr Chang said: “It’s a real mess here. Everybody is busy cleaning up. The villagers complained that the authorities did not give notice before opening the flood gate. They said the authorities only rang the bell, but that the flooding had started by then. Moreover, it was raining and the elderly could not hear the siren.”

He added: “They should have known about the water level rising, and informed the public when this went above the danger line.” AGENCIES