GEORGE TOWN: The Fire and Rescue Department has revised the number of victims buried under yesterday’s landslide in Tanjung Bungah from 14 to 11.
Its assistant director-general (Operation and Rescue) Edwin Galan Teruki said three of the 14 victims managed to escape before tonnes of earth came crashing down on the construction site.
The three survivors are two Bangladeshis and a Myanmar.
They sought treatment at the Penang Hospital for minor injuries.
The search and rescue (SAR) operation, which began at 9am yesterday, has so far recovered the bodies of six foreign workers.
Edwin said that the SAR will now focus on the remaining five missing people, which includes a Malaysian site supervisor.
“The three who managed who walk out alive pointed us to where their friends were.
“So, we kind of know the location of the other five people.
“We hope to wrap up the SAR operation by today,” he said, adding that the existing machinery and assets are more than sufficient for the operation.
Asked if the five may still be alive, Edwin said it is unlikely, judging by how long the average person can survive being buried.
Meanwhile, Edwin said the SAR team had dug out almost 1,000 tonnes of earth from the site.