Tanjung Bungah landslide: Penang govt tracing Myanmar victims' families

GEORGE TOWN: The Penang state government is making efforts to locate families of the two Myanmar victims who perished in the landslide at the affordable housing project site at Lengkok Lembah Permai, Tanjung Bungah here.
State Welfare, Caring Society and Environment Committee chairman Phee Boon Poh said the remains of the two victims were being kept at the Penang Hospital mortuary.
He said the committee was working together with the Myanmar Embassy in Malaysia and the housing project developer to locate the two victims' families.
"The state government has given one month to the Myanmar embassy to claim the bodies before it takes other necessary steps.
"Meanwhile, we are arranging for the remains of the five Bangladeshi nationals who perished in the same tragedy to be sent home. The process is expected to be completed by this weekend," he told reporters here today.

Eleven male workers comprising a local Chinese, five Bangladeshi nationals, two Indonesians, two Myanmar nationals and one Pakistani died in the 8.57 am incident.
To date, nine bodies have been claimed by their families.
Phee said the state government felt it crucial to contact the families of the two Myanmar victims to ascertain whether they were Muslim or Buddhist.
"If they were non-Muslim and their remains are not claimed after one month, we will arrange a cremation and keep the ashes in a temple. When their families come, we will hand over the ashes to them.
"If the victims were Muslim, we will refer the case to the Penang Islamic Religious Council for the burial arrangement," he said. — Bernama