GEORGE TOWN: There is no possibility of locating any more survivors in the landslide at the Bukit Kukus paired road project site, the Fire and Rescue Department said today.
The search and rescue (SAR) team commander, Morni Mamat, said this was due to the structure of the soil at the site.
He said the SAR operation would now focus on locating the bodies of victims who are feared buried under the rubble.
“The search site today is divided into three sectors with a distance of 50m from the landslide site. The operation is made more difficult due to the soft soil following rain this morning.
“A soil movement detector, provided by the SMART team, is in use. We will move our men to
safer grounds in the event of soil movement.
“For now, four victims have been found, out of whom three are dead. Two others were rescued prior to the SAR operation,” he said at the site this morning.
Meanwhile, northeast district police chief Assistant Commissioner Che Zamani Che Awang said he believed a total of nine victims were involved in the landslide.
He said besides the three fatalities, three other people have been rescued and the remaining three may have been buried alive.
“However, we do not have an official figure due to a lack of witness statements.
“The incident happened during Friday prayers and we assume that most of the workers here went to pray.
“We urge the workers' friends and family to step forward if their loved ones or friends are still missing,” he added.
It was initially reported that two people were killed, one rescued and 10 others were feared missing after a major landslide hit their kongsi homes about 1.50pm yesterday.
The Fire and Rescue earlier this morning confirmed that the third body had been recovered from the rubble.
Police also confirmed that two Indonesian women had sought treatment at the Penang Hospital.
The latest incident came two days before the first anniversary of the Tanjung Bungah landslide on Oct 21 last year.
The landslide then claimed 11 lives, including that of the sole Malaysian site supervisor.