Three members of a family survived a mudflow by clinging on to wooden beams after they lost their hold on each other.

The father, identified as Abdul, in his 50s, said he had grabbed on to his wife, Jalikha Malingkut, and their nine-year-old son after a sudden gush of mud tore through their wooden house just after midnight on April 1.

Abdul, who is recovering at the Pinangah clinic with his son, told rescuers that he was hit by floating debris, forcing him to let go of his son and wife.

He managed to cling on to a log.

His wife, according to rescuers, was washed down the river near Kg Alintang some 3km away, where villagers found her at about 7am.

They rushed her to the Pinangah clinic, where the doctor alerted the authorities at about 10.30am.

The rescue teams found Abdul on the riverbank and his son nearby.

image: http://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2017/04/04/quick-action-saves-the-day-for-three-they-survived-by-clinging-on-to-wooden-beams/~/media/4249b13a22d042f18812372cfbbc5213.ashx?h=340&w=600

Arduous task: Firemen and members of the rescue teams combing the landslide area in search of survivors at Sen Fu Plantation near Kampung Masaung in Pinangah district, close to Kota Kinabalu. — Bernama

Arduous task: Firemen and members of the rescue teams combing the landslide area in search of survivors at Sen Fu Plantation near Kampung Masaung in Pinangah district, close to Kota Kinabalu. — Bernama

Tongod district officer Robert Stidi said that while the condition of the survivors was good, the medical team had to refer Jalikha, a 50-year-old from the local ethnic Sungai tribe, to the Duchess of Kent Hospital for further treatment for her leg injury.

“We have eight people still missing. They are all from one family,” he said when contacted yesterday.

He did not disclose their names but said they were Abdul’s children – two daughters, aged 36 and 12, and three sons, aged 19, 16 and 11.

Abdul’s three grandchildren are also missing – two boys, aged six and 10, and an eight-year-old granddaughter.

On initial reports claiming that four had been rescued and seven were still missing, Stidi, who is the district disaster relief committee chairman, said it had based its information on statements given by the survivors to the police.

“As of now, we are searching for eight missing people,” he said.

He said some of the victims, including Abdul, were believed to be holders of the IMM13 document issued to Filipino refugees in Sabah.

Read more at http://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2017/04/04/quick-action-saves-the-day-for-three-they-survived-by-clinging-on-to-wooden-beams/#EAlIYieQkhT0MMuC.99

Source:
courtesy of THE STAR

by STEPHANIE LEE and MUGUNTAN VANAR

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