23 people dead and 19 missing in mudslide<\/p>\n
KUALA LUMPUR (AFP): As the death toll in a mudslide at a
\nMalaysian aborigine village rose to 23 yesterday, a geomancer
\ncalled for a halt to hilltop tree-clearing, believing the
\navalanche to be the work of a disturbed \"dragon.\"<\/p>\n
Police said 19 others, mainly children, were still missing in
\nthe mudslide that swept down Kinjang mountain and smashed into
\nthe Pos Dipang aborigine settlement in northern Perak state last
\nThursday.<\/p>\n
\"The body of an unidentified 10-year old child -- the 23rd
\nvictim -- was found this afternoon (0600 GMT),\" police in nearby
\nKampar town monitoring the disaster said by telephone.<\/p>\n
Of the 23 bodies recovered, 21 have been identified, among
\nthem eight women, seven men, four children -- all aborigines --
\nas well as two ethnic Chinese, a man and a seven-month-old girl.<\/p>\n
The victims were in 30 haphazardly-built wooden houses swept
\naway by the torrent of logs, mud and water into the river at the
\nfoot of the hill.<\/p>\n
The Pos Dipang village, tucked away in remote hilly terrain
\nabout 200 meters above sea level and only acessible by
\nfour-wheel-drive vehicles, houses 1,500 inhabitants.<\/p>\n
As a 290-member team resumed searching for possible survivors
\nearly yesterday, geomancer Reverend R. Yong, a regular \"feng
\nshui\" (geomancy) columnist of the Star daily newspaper called on
\nthe government to put an immediate halt to tree-clearing on the
\nhill.<\/p>\n
An injured \"dragon was venting its anger,\" Yong said, adding
\nthat \"the red mudflow from the Kinjang range signified the
\ndragon's blood.\"<\/p>\n
Some aborigines in the ill-fated village had told authorities
\non Saturday they believed the landslide was caused by \"the
\nawakening of a giant dragon which lives deep in the hill.\"<\/p>\n
Environmentalists and non-government organisations said Sunday
\nsuch a theory could not be dismissed, going by the signs of
\nerosion on the Kinjang mountain-top due to uncontrolled land-
\nclearing and interference with nature.<\/p>\n
The presence of logged timber at the disaster site indicated
\nthere was still logging activity, said Colin Nicholas,
\ncoordinator for the non-governmental Center for Orang Asli
\n(Aborigine) Concerns.<\/p>\n
\"This is strange because tree-felling activities should have
\nended a long time ago if the forestry department had issued the
\nlast logging licence in the 1980s as it has claimed,\" Nicholas
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
The avalanche left in its wake a 15-kilometer trail of
\ndestruction damaging two bridges across the river and cutting off
\nthe main road to the settlement.<\/p>\n
Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, who had ordered a probe into
\nthe tragedy, slammed the \"finger-pointing,\" saying on Saturday
\nMalaysians should be more compassionate and \"think of how to help
\nthe victims instead of searching for people to blame.\"<\/p>\n
Police said it was the worst landslide tragedy after a
\nhillstop collapse along the road to the Genting Highlands casino-
\nresort in central Pahang state in June last year.<\/p>\n
The Genting landslip buried 15 vehicles and killed 21 people,
\nincluding two Japanese, four Philippine nationals and four
\nSingaporeans.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/23-people-dead-and-19-missing-in-mudslide-1447893297",
"image": ""
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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