Drone pix may have captured slope damage

GEORGE TOWN: A buyer of the Tanjung Bungah project that was hit by a landslide may have recorded early signs of trouble months ago.

High-resolution drone pictures he took of the construction site on July 12 show signs of damage at the lower slope where the landslide occurred.

“You can see that the cut slope is broken and there is a big hole,” said the buyer, who asked to be identified only as Nik.

He said the hole was strewn with boulders, and there was a large puddle of water at the bottom.

“This is my wife’s first home and she wanted me to take the drone pictures to record the construction.

“After the landslide, I reviewed the pictures and on zooming in, I was shocked to see the water and broken slope exactly where the landslide happened.

Warning sign?: The project site captured in a drone photograph taken on July 12.

“What are we going to do now? We have started servicing the loan,” said Nik, 29, adding that his wife bought the unit for RM418,000.

He said other buyers have also expressed their worries about the future of the project in a Facebook group.

Pulau Betong assemblyman Datuk Muhammad Farid Saad, a quantity surveyor by profession, said after being shown the drone pictures that he was baffled by the safety measures in place at the site.