Sixteen killed, 17 missing in Malaysia landslide

At least 16 people were killed when a landslide struck a campsite at a Malaysian farm, officials said, with rescuers scouring the muddy terrain for nearly 20 people still missing.

Nor Hisham Mohammad, director of the operations division at the fire and rescue department, told reporters that "16 victims have died. The search now is focused on the remaining 17."

According to Nga Kor Ming, the local government development minister, 61 people so far have been found safe after the predawn landslide near the town of Batang Kali, just outside the capital Kuala Lumpur and near a mountain casino resort.

Hundreds of government personnel including police and rescuers were seen at the gates leading to the campsite compound, while an excavator was seen entering the area from the main road.

Large fallen trees and crushed vehicles, as well as search and rescue personnel wearing headlamps and digging with shovels, and searching for survivors by a fallen structure.

Landslides are common in Malaysia after heavy rains, which are regular at the end of the year. However, there were no heavy rains recorded overnight in Batang Kali.

The government has imposed strict rules with regards to hillside development, but landslides have continued to occur after bouts of bad weather.

In one of the deadliest such incidents, a huge mudslide in 1993 brought on by heavy rain caused a 12-storey residential building outside the capital to collapse, killing 48 people.