Man dies after landslide hits two-storey house in Penang

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SINGAPORE: A man died after a landslide struck a house in Penang on Sunday (Oct 25), local authorities said.

The Penang Fire and Rescue Department said it responded to an emergency call at 8.36am after a landslide hit a two-storey house in the district of Taman Seri Rambai, Paya Terubong.

Three people were caught in the landslide, but while two were rescued, a 73-year-old man was trapped under the debris.

He was later pronounced dead at the scene by rescue workers, and his body was retrieved at about 11am.

The Penang Island City Council issued a stop-work order to a hillside condominium construction site located near the landslide, which council mayor A Rajendran later said was to facilitate authorities' investigations into the incident.

“The road and condominium projects have been ongoing for more than a year, while slope stabilisation works are also being carried out in the area,” he told the Bernama news agency.

However, Penang state executive councillor for Infrastructure, Transport and Digital Zairil Khir Johari said that stabilisation works had not yet been completed in some sections when the landslide occurred.

“Unfortunately, the section that had yet to be completed was the one affected by the landslide,” he told Bernama, adding that further investigations are ongoing.

Despite the dry weather, soil movement can still be detected at the landslide site, said northeast district officer Isma Suhaimi Shairff.

Preliminary findings indicate that a leaking water pipe on the slope and clogged drains may have caused water to accumulate, triggering the landslide, Bernama reported him as saying.

He added that a heavy crane and large concrete blocks at the site could fall if the ground shifts further.

Meanwhile, the exposed slope will be covered with plastic sheeting to protect it from rain, and six houses in the area have been ordered to evacuate, Isma Suhaimi said.