GEORGE TOWN, June 26 — Efforts to extricate the victims of the landslide near a resort in Jalan Tanjung Bungah last night faced difficulty due to a tap root that prevented the operation from being carried out.

Northeast District Police chief ACP Che Zaimani Che Awang said efforts were still in progress to cut off the tree root to enable the bodies to be recovered.

“Efforts to find the victims are being done as well as finding another victim involved in this incident,” he told reporters at the scene.

Until 2am this morning, the three bodies of victims who had been found had yet to be extricated.

Advertisement

Four Myanmar nationals reportedly were hired by the resort owner to repair the retaining walls of the area following the land movements that occurred in the area over the past week, police said.

“This search and rescue operation will continue until all the victims are recovered and extricated and will be sent to Penang Hospital for the post-mortem,” said Che Zaimani. — Bernama