KOTA KINABALU: Nine people including five children have died in two separate landslides following continuous heavy rain overnight in Sabah.
Seven victims perished when a landslide struck a house in Kampung Cenderakasih, Kolombong, Inanam around 9.15 am according to Kota Kinabalu police chief ACP Kasim Muda.
The victims included three boys and a girl aged between two and nine years old along with two women and a man aged between 25 and 50.
Eleven people were involved in the incident with four survivors including one person suffering a broken leg according to police reports.
State Fire and Rescue Department director Mohd Pisar Aziz confirmed receiving the distress call at 10.02 am with rescue teams arriving at the scene by 10.24 am.
Twenty-four firefighters from Lintas and Tuaran stations participated in the search and rescue operation at the Inanam landslide site.
A separate landslide in Kampung Mook, Papar claimed the lives of a 38-year-old woman and an 11-year-old boy when their home was hit.
Mohd Pisar confirmed both victims were recovered after nearly four hours and declared dead at the scene by medical personnel.
The fire department received the alert for the Papar incident at 10.02 am with teams dispatched to the location 35 kilometres from their station.
Another landslide incident was reported in Kampung Marahang Tuntul, Papar where three people were buried under debris.
Mohd Pisar stated that two victims have been located with extraction efforts underway while one person remains missing.
The Kampung Marahang Tuntul incident was reported at 9.20 am with sixteen personnel deployed to the site located 13 kilometres from the fire station.
Papar district is located approximately 40 kilometres south of Kota Kinabalu in Sabah’s west coast region. – Bernama
