IPOH, Nov 10 — The authorities have recovered the bodies of two victims, believed to be guests staying at a villa in the Banjaran Hotsprings Retreat in Tambun, following a landslide at the property early this morning.
Perak acting police chief Deputy Commissioner Datuk Goh Boon Keng said that the bodies — one male and one female — were discovered at about 10am today.
“The authorities received a call about the incident at about 2am today. The Fire and Rescue Department rushed to the scene where they were informed that two of the villa’s guests were believed to have been buried in the landslide.
“The search and recovery work had to be stopped several times as movement was still detected in the earth.
“The authorities resumed the recovery work at 7am after getting clearance from state Geoscience and Mineral Department personnel and we managed to find the victims,” he told reporters when met at the scene.
Goh said that the recovery work is still ongoing but was delayed as water was still flowing in the landslide area and causing slight land movements.
“There is still a risk of another landslide in the area,” he said, before adding that the landslide might have occurred due to heavy rain over the past few days.
Although not officially named by the authorities, sources have revealed to Malay Mail that the two victims are believed to be Ooi Chee Wei, 39 and Lee Tze Jun, 32.
Goh also said that the landslide only occurred near the hilly terrain where the victims’ villa was located.
He said that the victims were found in the area where the jacuzzi was located in the villa.
“When the incident happened, the victims were in the jacuzzi room. This could be the reason why the hotel staff could not communicate with the victims.
“When the incident happened, there were only four guests staying at the resort. The villa where the other two guests were was not affected,” he said.
