THE search for victims of a landslide in Paya Terubong, Penang ended this late afternoon, after five days.

The search and rescue team had combed through the entire landslide area of nearly a hectare since the disaster on Friday.

Penang fire and rescue department chief Saadon Moktar called the operation to a halt at 5.50pm. 

“We are happy the operation was a success. No personnel were injured on the job,” he said. 

There were nine deaths in total. All were foreigners.

Four escaped with injuries. 

It was earlier reported that one more Bangladeshi was missing but Saadon said the canine unit had confirmed there were no more bodies. 

“We also dug the soil right to the bottom,” he said. 

Police had voiced suspicious that some individuals reported missing following the landslide had fled because they lacked the documents to stay and work here.. 

Saadon said the most difficult part of the operation was ensuring the safety of members of the search and rescue team, who were assisted by the department’s sniffer dogs from headquarters. 

Earlier during a debriefing with search and rescue personnel at the end of the operation, Saadon and northeast district police chief Che Zamani congratulated the team on their excellent work over the last five days. – October 23, 2018.