LAWAS: Two teenage brothers escaped with only minor scratches from beneath piles of rubble after their double-storey house suddenly collapsed today.
The incident happened at the sprawling village of Kampung Seberang Masjid Lama Awat-Awat in Lawas district in northernmost Sarawak where there are hundreds of houses built densely along the riverbanks.
Sarawak Fire and Rescue Department (Bomba), in a press update, said the house was reported to have collapsed suddenly around 10am.
Rescue teams from the department’s base in Lawas town rushed to the scene and at around noon, and reported that they had found the teen boys had escaped alive from the rubble despite the house being entirely flattened.
The two brothers have been identified as 12 year old Izzan Syahruddin, and Izzan Syahrizal, 18.
“Our Bomba station in Lawas received an emergency alert of the house collapse at about 10am,“ the department said.
“Search and rescue teams were immediately deployed to the village which is located 39km away from Lawas town.
“Our rescue teams found the house structure had entirely collapsed.
“They carried out checks and found two boys at the scene.”
Villagers said the two boys managed to get out from the rubble on their own before the Bomba rescue teams arrived.
“The two boys told our rescue teams they were sleeping in their room when the house suddenly collapsed.
“They said all their other family members were not home at the time of the incident,“ said Sarawak Bomba.
Rescuers at the site treated the two brothers for minor scratches on the legs.
The rescue unit leader advised neighbours to bring the two boys to Lawas Hospital for further checkups and observation if necessary.
The cause of the collapse in being probed and the local council has been notified of the incident.
Lawas district is located adjacent to the Sarawak-Sabah state boundary.
