Malaysia shuts all campsites for a week after landslide kills at least 21 in Genting Highlands
- The landslide in Selangor state tore down a hillside into an organic farm with camping facilities, killing at least 21 people and injuring several others
- Officials said more than 90 campers were caught in the landslide and 59 had been rescued, with 12 still missing
The Malaysian government on Friday ordered a blanket ban on all campsites in the country after 21 people, including children, died in an early morning landslide at an unlicensed camping area near the country’s popular hilltop casino resort of Genting Highlands.
A total of 94 people were reportedly at the campsite when the landslide hit at 3am, burying over one acre of land under the soil that slipped from a height of more than 30 metres.
Among the victims were three children and 10 women, according to the fire and rescue department. Seventeen victims were still missing as of 1pm on Friday. Of those rescued, three were Singaporeans, according to the city state’s foreign ministry.
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Malaysia landslide kills at least 18 campers overnight, countless still missing
The shutdown order came from Minister of Local Government Development Nga Kor Ming, who visited the site of the disaster, located some 25km northeast of the capital Kuala Lumpur with an elevation of over 900m making it popular with locals looking for a respite from the tropical heat.
“An order was made this morning to the 155 local authorities to immediately close all campsites for seven days,” the minister told reporters.
On top of that, campsites near waterfalls, hill cliffs, and at-risk areas will have to be vacated indefinitely until the government issues a new order, he said, given it is forecast to rain for five days beginning Saturday.
Nga also revealed that the affected campsite, Father’s Organic Farm, was only licensed to operate as an organic farm and did not have the proper paperwork to operate a campsite.
“The government will take stringent actions against the operators. Nobody is above the law,” he said.
Home Minister Saifuddin Nasution, who was also at the site, however said that such a matter would be reviewed later as the focus was now on finding the missing people.
Despite records kept by the campsite owner stating that 94 people were on the campsite, authorities said the number could be much higher as children below the age of four were not required to be registered.
“For example, in a family of five, perhaps only the wife registered her name on behalf of the others,” said Saifuddin.
Camper Teh Lynn Xuan, 22, said one of her brothers was killed and another was being treated in hospital.
“I heard a loud sound like thunder, but it was the rocks falling,” she told Malay-language daily Berita Harian.
“We felt the tents becoming unstable and soil was falling around us. Luckily, I was able to leave the tent and go to some place safer. My mother and I managed to crawl out and save ourselves.”
Local newspaper The New Straits Times reported that 20 teachers from Mun Choong Chinese Primary School and their family members had been among those who camped at the site since Wednesday.
News agency Bernama tweeted that all campsites and water recreation areas around Batang Kali had been ordered to close immediately until further notice, citing the minister of home affairs.
Pictures posted on the Father’s Organic Farm Facebook page show a farmhouse in a small valley, with a large area where tents can be set up.
Footage from local television showed the aftermath of a landslide through a forested area beside a road, while other images on social media showed rescuers clambering over thick mud, large trees and other debris.
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Selangor is the country’s most affluent state and has suffered landslides before, often attributed to forest and land clearance.
Leong Jim Meng, another camper, said he and his family did not expect a landslide as it had not been raining heavily, with just light drizzle in recent days.
“My family and I were trapped when the soil covered our tent,” he told Berita Harian. “We managed to run to the parking lot and called the authorities. They arrived quite quickly, about 30 minutes later.”
A year ago, about 21,000 people were displaced by flooding from torrential rain in seven states across the country.
