Bangladeshi worker dies, four others missing after Malaysia landslide

A Bangladeshi national was among four foreign workers killed in a landslide at a construction site in the northwest Malaysian state of Penang. Four other Bangladeshi nationals are among the five workers who went missing after the incident.

The tragedy occurred after heavy rain in Paya Terubong that lasted from Thursday afternoon until noon the following day, causing the landslide near Bukit Kukus hill.

The dead Bangladeshi worker has been identified as Attrul, 35. His body was recovered on Friday along with Indonesian national Samsul Asman, 19. The bodies of Myanmar national Khin Aye Khaing, 33, and Indonesian national Bahtiar, 36, were recovered on Saturday at around 1:30 am and at 11:55 am respectively, bdnews24.com reports citing Bernama, Malaysia’s state-run news agency.

The five people still missing are an Indonesian, identified as Subairi, and four Bangladeshi nationals – Mithu Hossain, 30, Mohamad Abd Jalil, 31, Ujjal, 33, and Rahat, 25.

Details on the Bangladeshi workers were not immediately available.

The search and rescue (SAR) operation for the remaining five victims, who are feared to be buried alive in the landslide, will start after the Mineral and Geoscience Department (JMG) gives the green light, said Penang Fire and Rescue Department (FRD) director Saadon Moktar.

He said an inspection was underway by the JMG to detect any earth movement in the area before it could allow the SAR team to continue its operations.

"We hope the weather today is fine so that we can continue the operation in the third sector, where the five victims are believed to be buried,” he said.

He said about 100 personnel from various agencies, including FRD, the SMART team, police and the Civil Defence Force, were on standby to continue with the SAR operation, which is now on its third day.