Bodies of last two landslide victims found

GEORGE TOWN: Rescue workers have located the last two victims of Saturday's mammoth landslide which took the lives of 11 construction workers including a 27-year-old Malaysian supervisor at Lengkok Lembah Permai here.
The bodies were located by rescue workers who were working around the clock for the past 48 hours to retrieve the bodies in Tanjung Bungah.
Penang Fire and Rescue Department director Saadon Mokhtar confirmed the discovery, saying the focus is now on removing the bodies out of the rubble.
The site was inundated with tonnes of red earth, dirt, debris, boulders and rocks as well as construction material of steel, bricks, rods and fencing.
In the incident on Saturday, 11 construction workers were about to start another day of building a 50 storey affordable housing scheme beside a quarry.
Suddenly, the land from above came crashing down.
In an instant, the 11 workers were buried alive while three lucky ones managed to scurry out, suffering just minor injuries.
Meanwhile, a spokesperson with the Penang Island City Council (MBPP) said that the council will clarify various claims made about the project site in a media briefing later today.
It comes following a damning disclosure that the project was rejected by the Department of Environment (DOE) in 2015 on grounds that it was near the granite quarry excavation site.
Hence, the site had no Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) approval, but it remains a puzzle why the project managed to continue despite the non-approval status as well as complaints lodged by the Tanjung Bungah Residents Association and the local assemblyperson Teh Yee Cheu.
Among the reasons cited in the report that went viral online, were the lack of a buffer zone between the project and the quarrying activities making it not a safe environment for housing, and the construction involved steep slopes.
The DOE in a statement criticised Penang for its lack of oversight on the project.
Meanwhile, Penang Gerakan Election Task Force chairperson Wong Mun Hoe said that the Barisan Nasional coalition will make the preservation of the environment in Penang a central agenda when it campaigns in the next general election.
According to Wong, mother nature in Penang has deteriorated for the last nine years as the state government has apparently decided to be receptive to a wonton development pace despite warnings from environmentalists.
The signs were apparent from major flash floods, landslides and coastal erosion; yet the state wanted to propose major infrastructure such as highways and underwater tunnels which may further erode the ecology baseline here, he said.
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