Rescue teams trying to find missing campers caught in Friday’s landslide at an unlicensed campsite in Malaysia have recovered the bodies of a girl and a boy, bringing the death toll to 23.
The landslide in Batang Kaliin a well-liked hilly area about 30 miles north of Kuala Lumpur, burst through a campsite while people slept in their tents, killing the victims, including six children.
Of the 94 people caught in the slide, 61 were protected and 10 are still missing, according to the Selangor State Fire and Rescue Department.
Search and rescue operations continued for a second day Saturday after an overnight stop due to heavy rains that complicated the operation, said state fire and rescue chief Norazam Khamis.
“We have now to watch out since the water flows from above and in the soil. This complicates exploration operations since the ground is soft,” he said.
![94 people were reported to be in the landslide and 61 survived.](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/12/2022-12-17T045544Z_723761518_RC2E7Y9S62VL_RTRMADP_3_MALAYSIA-LANDSLIDE.jpg?w=1024)
A complete of 135 rescuers resumed searching the thick mud and fallen trees around 8:30 a.m. with the assistance of backhoes and 7 tusks, according to Norazam.
Norazam told reporters that the possibilities of more missing people having the ability to survive due to the shortage of oxygen and the load of the mud are slim.
Initial investigations showed that an embankment with a volume of roughly 588,578 cubic meters of earth had collapsed. The earth fell from a height of about 100 feet and covered an area of about an acre.
Malaysia’s National Disaster Management Agency said it had identified six victims. The youngest was a 9-year-old boy.
Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim told reporters late on Friday that the federal government would donate $2,260 in aid to the families of every person killed in the tragedy, while survivors would receive $226 per household.
![A landslide swept through a campsite on Friday morning, 30 miles from the Malaysian capital.](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/12/2022-12-17T045545Z_1946382896_RC2E7Y9HMM61_RTRMADP_3_MALAYSIA-LANDSLIDE.jpg?w=1024)
The Department of Forestry in several states ordered the closure of campsites and climbing and off-road trails deemed high risk after the disaster.
Landslides are common in Malaysia, but normally only after heavy rains. Flooding is common and about 21,000 people were displaced by heavy rains in seven states last yr.