KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 8 — The search-and-rescue operation called off yesterday evening was resumed last night at the Bukit Antarabangsa landslide area in Hulu Klang near here to find a missing Sri Lankan maid of veterinary doctor N. Yogeswari who was killed in the tragedy.
Selangor police chief Datuk Khalid Abu Bakar said the operation was resumed at 9.30pm, three hours after it was called off, after an acquaintance of Dr Yogeswari lodged a missing persons report at 8.30pm.
He said the SAR operation was confined to the bungalow at No. 1, Jalan Bukit Mewah where the body of Dr Yogeswari was recovered on Saturday, the day of the landslide which occurred at about 4am, killing four people and destroying or damaging 14 bungalows in Taman Bukit Mewah and Taman Bukit Utama.
Khalid told reporters at the scene the SAR operation had gone on overnight but with extreme caution as there had been earth movements owing to the heavy rain since early morning today.
Meanwhile, about 500 residents of Bukit Antarabangsa are still trapped in their homes as the main access road to the housing estates there remains cut off owing to the landslide, and work to build an alternative route is slowed down by the inclement weather.
"We have been working all night to build the alternative route. The work has been slowed down by the rain," said Khalid.
He also asked the media to avoid interviewing the affected residents on the situation in the landslide area as there could be conflicting reports.
The media should report to the security authorities if they came across trapped people who had been overlooked so that immediate action could be taken to assist them, he said.
Despite the disaster and the rain this morning, Muslim residents in the area attended Aidil Adha prayers at the Addinniah surau located about 500 metres from the landslide area. Muslims among the people trapped in their homes owing to the cut-off access road attended prayers at the Al-Hidayah Mosque.
The four people who died in the landslide are Dr Yogeswari, 40, accountant Eng Yee Peng, 30, Shaiful Khas Shahrudin, 20, and Indonesian national Surinah, 30s. — Bernama
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