Death toll mounts after landslide hits orphanage

AFP - A landslide caused by heavy rains hit an orphanage in Malaysia on Saturday, killing five children and burying at least 10 other people, a local lawmaker and police said.

The incident took place at around 2:30 pm (0630 GMT) at the Children's Hidayah Madrasah Al-Taqwa orphanage in Hulu Langat, just south of the capital Kuala Lumpur.

Fire department deputy director Morni Mamat said 24 people -- 20 children and four adult caretakers -- were buried when the landslide struck.

Eight children and one of the orphanage caretakers were pulled alive from the muddy debris, police said, while rescuers recovered the bodies of five boys aged between 11 and 14.

The orphanage had 49 occupants, five of them caretakers. All 44 residents were boys.

Che Rosli Che Mat, an opposition lawmaker with the conservative Islamic party (PAS) expressed shock over the tragedy and said efforts to rescue the victims had been hampered by heavy rain.

Two diggers backed by powerful spotlights were being used, he said, as rescuers frantically dug for survivors with spades.

"But the heavy rain is washing down more red earth. I fear they will probably find more bodies," he said. "I fear for the safety of the rescuers."

Che Rosli said the orphanage was located on a hill slope in his constituency, and it had been raining heavily in the semi-rural area for the past two days.

The tragedy struck when the children were practising the traditional Malay "kompang" drums under a tent near a steep slope, he said.

"The landslide happened very fast. Only a few children managed to escape. I am surprised an orphanage has been built on a side of hill," he said.

Meanwhile, Minister of Women, Family and Community Development Shahrizat Abdul Jalil said she was saddened by the deadly landslide.

"I was just informed by the incident of children being buried in a landslide. It is a sad news," she said.

Sharizat said she would work with the police to establish the cause of the tragedy, adding: "I hope the children's home was not build without the approval of local authorities."

Landslides in Malaysia are regular natural disasters and the government has imposed strict rules with regards to hillside development.

In one of the country's worst tragedies, a huge mudslide brought on by heavy rain triggered the collapse of a 12-storey residential building on the outskirts of Kuala Lumpur in December 1993, killing 48 people.