BATANG KALI: A hundred victims was simply too large a number even for experienced first responder Mohd Firdaus Abd Samad to believe as he received the initial report about the landslide that hit the Father's Organic Farm campsite in Gohtong Jaya here.
That number was what struck the 17-year veteran of the Hulu Selangor district Civil Defence Force (JPAM) the hardest as he and his colleagues made their way to the site of the incident to begin search and rescue (SAR) operations to locate and save the victims.
"When I was on duty at the Hulu Selangor district operations centre last Friday, we received a call from the MERS 999 about the incident at around 2.30 am. I immediately contacted the fire and rescue station for confirmation as I could not believe that the number of victims had exceeded 100 people.
"After receiving confirmation from the authorities including the police, I along with JPAM officer Hilmi Husman and five other personnel rushed to the incident site," he told Bernama last night.
He said rescue efforts were already underway when they arrived, with personnel from other security teams spread out across the area responding to calls for help from the victims all around in the darkness.
"As we began to deploy for the SAR operation, I saw a few victims coming out of the landslide area on their own heading towards safety. Several of them used their flashlights to signal for help," Mohd Firdaus said.
According to him, everyone was wading through ankle-deep mud and the slippery conditions made it hard for them to move to assist victims, and always at the back of everyone's mind was the fear that another landslide would occur in an instant.
"There was a very sad situation when a man told us that his wife and child were trapped in their car that was buried by the landslide. He shouted to his wife to continue to press the car horn so that we could locate her easier.
"We made our way in the dark through piles of earth, strewn with half-buried cars and other debris, guided by the sounds of the horn. Before long, we managed to find the car in question, and sure enough, his wife and child were there.
"The wife, even in her weak condition, urged us to save her child first. When we managed to get to the child, I immediately held the child in my arms. But it was at that moment that I realised the child had already died. It was clear he was pale, cold and did not have a pulse," he shared.
Mohd Firdaus said that his long years of experience as a first responder kicked in naturally, allowing he and his team to remain calm as they extricated the child and the mother.
The JPAM is one of five main agencies involved in the SAR operations in the Batang Kali landslide, which is spearheaded by the Fire and Rescue Department. The operation has now entered its third day.
As of yesterday evening, 24 victims were confirmed dead with nine still missing out of a total of 94 victims, based on official police information.
Checks by Bernama as of 2am revealed that the situation was calm at the incident site, with only rescue agency vehicles entering and exiting the incident area control post.
The SAR operation halted at 4am and resumes at 9am this morning. - BERNAMA