BATANG KALI, Dec 23 — A call to prayer or ‘azan’ was once again recited before the start of the search and rescue (SAR) operation for the last victim in the landslide tragedy at the Father’s Organic Farm campsite in Gohtong Jaya, here, which entered its eighth day today.
The Ministry of Defence in a post on Facebook said that the call to prayer was recited by Private Muhammad Asyraf Ghazali from the 25th Battalion of the Royal Malay Regiment.
“Reciting the call to prayer before carrying out any mission is always practiced by the Malaysian Armed Forces (ATM) and it is a spiritual effort to seek guidance and blessings from the Almighty.
“The call to prayer was then followed by the recitation of ‘doa’,” it said.
The search for the victim started at about 8 am with the rescue team assisted by six dogs from the tracker dog unit (K9) and assets from various agencies, including the Royal Malaysia Police (PDRM).
The landslide tragedy that struck at 2.42 am last Friday (Dec 16), has so far claimed 30 lives, with 61 people rescued and one still missing.
In the operation yesterday, the rescue team recovered four bodies, comprising an adult man and woman, as well as two children, at a depth of seven metres in sector C (Riverside) at 11.04 am, bringing the death toll in the tragedy to 30 people.
The police, at a press conference late yesterday, confirmed the official and actual number of victims involved in the incident was 92, instead of 94 as previously reported.
Meanwhile, a Bernama check at the on-scene command post (PKTK) found that media practitioners were patiently waiting for any latest developments of the operation to find the last victim.
Vehicles carrying rescue personnel on their shift rotation were also seen entering and leaving the SAR operation area.
