Malaysian orphans killed by landslide

At least five boys killed as rescuers dig by hand to reach 24 children and adults trapped under mud At least five children have been killed in Malaysia after a landslide buried their orphanage. Rescuers have been digging by hand to reach the 20 boys and four adults trapped when the landslide struck the orphanage in a rural village in central Selangor state. The bodies of five boys, aged eight to 17, have been recovered. Six boys and a 30-year-old warden who were critically injured have been pulled from the mud and taken to hospital, police said. The district police chief, Abdul Rashid Wahab, said around 200 firefighters, police and other emergency workers are involved in the search for another nine children and three staff at the orphanage for ethnic Malay Muslim boys. “They just had lunch at the tent by the side of the house when two landslides apparently occurred at the same time. The tent collapsed, burying 24 people as they did not have time to escape,” he said. “Rescuers have to dig using their hands and other equipment because the surrounding soil is very soft due to the rain.” He said the search would continue. The three-storey house at the foot of a hill was not damaged in the landslide but was partly covered in sludge. Several households near the orphanage have been told to evacuate amid concerns about further landslides. Mohamad Hambali Ismail, a warden at the orphanage, told local media that the children were preparing to receive visitors when the landslide hit. “I heard a loud noise. Suddenly the earth was chasing me. I had to run to save myself,” Hambali, 34, told the Malay-language Berita Harian newspaper. Malaysia Natural disasters and extreme weather guardian.co.uk

Posted by on May 21, 2011. Filed under News, Politics, World News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.