Genting Highlands landslide: Death toll rises to 30 as 4 more bodies found buried under 7m of mud

BATANG KALI — Four more bodies have been recovered at the landslide-hit Father's Organic Farm campsite after a search and rescue (SAR) mission resumed on Thursday (Dec 22) morning.

All four bodies were buried under seven metres of mud.

Hulu Selangor Police chief Superintendent Suffian Abdullah said they were found in the same spot in Sector C at 11.04am.

He said a K9 (dog) unit was called in after rescuers discovered a buried camp underneath thick soil at 10.43am.

"Once the unit signalled the location, the SAR team started digging deeper into the soil and found the bodies lying underneath."

"The bodies were of two adults and two children, possibly from one family," he told in a press conference at the scene.

Mr Suffian said the bodies were all clothed and intact, but were in the early stages of decomposition.

"We were unable to determine their identities.

"The bodies have been sent to Sungai Buloh Hospital for the identification process and post mortem," he said, adding that rescuers would continue to search for the remaining three missing.

The incident at 2am on Dec 16 saw 94 adults and children affected. Sixty-one people survived with some having to seek medical care at nearby hospitals.

The landslide has claimed the lives of 30 people so far.

The SAR operation, now in its seventh day, resumed at 8am on Thursday after being suspended at 10pm on Wednesday night.

On Wednesday, the SAR team also found the remains of a man and two of his dogs near a boulder before the operation was forced to be halted due to bad weather.

The operation was halted twice before it was called off for the day for safety reasons.

Meanwhile, Selangor Fire and Rescue Department Deputy Director Wan Md Razali Wan Md Ismail said 148 SAR personnel were combing the site for the remaining three missing victims.

Eleven excavators and seven canines are being used in the SAR operation. Four of the dogs are from the Fire and Rescue Department, two are from the police force and one is from the armed forces.

"The focus of the search operation is now on Sector C and A," he said.

He was optimistic the remaining three missing victims will be found soon.

"Apart from land area, we are searching at the nearby streams to make sure that those missing have not been swept into the rivers during the rain these past few days." NEW STRAITS TIMES