Three Indonesians

Three Indonesians dead in KL

KUALA LUMPUR (AFP): Three Indonesians were yesterday confirmed dead and at least 12 laborers were missing believed trapped in the rubble of a row of workers-quarter that collapsed late Thursday, police said.

Five other occupants escaped when the row of 10 units of quarters built for construction laborers collapsed after a landslip and sank into a disused mining pool near a housing project just outside Kuala Lumpur, police said Friday.

The dead were identified as Yatim Sardani, 45, and his two children -- a two-year-old boy Ahmad Fauzi and a five-month-old girl Siti Rosnah.

The survivors included Yatim's wife, Musarayah Saravan, 40, and a two-year old Indonesian girl.

According to the survivors, there were 20 people -- seven women and 13 men -- sleeping in the quarters when they gave way, police said.

One of the survivors, Ansari Abdullah, 20 a local labourer, said he was shaken from his sleep by a strong tremor.

"In a blink of an eye I found myself in the water and my arms and legs were immobilized by the roof beams. But I managed to free myself and swam to the side of the mining pool," Ansari was quoted by Bernama news agency as saying.

Police, in an intensified rescue operation, have brought in eight divers from the Kuala Lumpur City hall's rescue squad.