Rescuers toiling past midnight at a ravaged orphanage in Kampung Gahal, Hulu langat, retrieved 13 bodies and are still looking for three more.
Heavy rain did not stop them from sifting through the piles of earth to look for survivors
Earlier, Heavy rain and multiple aftershocks are hampering the search and rescue for the remaining seven victims, mostly children, believed to be buried in a devastating landslide in Kampung Gahal, Hulu Langat.
At press time, the toll reads: nine dead, while nine were rescued and hospitalised.
Two of the dead have been identified as Mohd Zaim Azahari, 14, and his brother Mohd Azed, 8.
Almost 300 rescue workers, using heavy machinery and bare hands, were digging through the rubble late into the night looking for the missing children.
The dead were a caretaker and four children from the Hidayah Madrasah Al-Taqwa orphanage. The grounds also consist of a motivational camp and a resort.
All the victims were in a tent on the grounds, rehearsing a nasyid performance for a function, which was supposed to be held later yesterday.
Survivors claimed there was a sudden gust of wind and a thunderous sound before tonnes of earth and huge boulders came crashing down around 2.15pm from a hill behind the buildings.
Selangor police chief Datuk Tun Hisan Tun Hamzah said two landslides occurred almost at the same time. He said as of 7.30pm, 12 children and one caretaker were pulled out of the debris by search and rescue teams comprising personnel from the Fire and Rescue Department, police and the Civil Defence Department.
He said the dead were sent to the Ampang Hospital for a post-mortem while the injured were being treated at the Kajang Hospital.
Most of the victims, who were sent to the Kajang Hospital, suffered injuries to their legs and arms. They were said to be in stable condition.
There were 44 children, between the ages of 7 and 18, and five caretakers, the oldest of them aged 32, staying at the orphanage when the killer landslide struck.
Two of them, Mohd Faizal Isnin, 17, and Ahmad Hezzamullah, 15, said they were busy practising when they heard the sounds of trees and branches snapping.
"There were shouts, telling us to run. Everything was so chaotic," said Faizal.
Mohd Jihad Jalal, 14, a resident at the orphanage since the past three years, said he had wanted to go to the canteen for lunch when he saw people running and screaming for help.
"The villagers nearby also came running after hearing our cries for help. One of them got me to safety."
Villager Kamarulzaman Yaakob, who was among the first to get to the scene, saved several boys.
"It was raining heavily last night. This probably caused the landslide."
Another villager, identified only as Ghazali, said he was on his way to work at the resort nearby when he noticed the chaos.
"I notified my colleagues and they immediately turned up and started digging for survivors."
