KOTA KINABALU: “I will pay anything. Please get an excavator and rescue my wife and son.”
That was the desperate plea of a man standing helplessly outside his house, which had been buried by a landslide in Papar.
His heart-wrenching cry for help was captured in a heartbreaking video that has since gone viral.
“I can’t do anything anymore. I beg you all, please help me,” he said before breaking down.
Hours later, his worst fears were realised.
His 38-year-old wife and 11-year-old son were recovered from the wreckage. They were dead.
He was later seen exhausted and disoriented at the scene as firefighters carried out search and rescue operations in Kampung Mook, about 35km from the Papar fire station.
Shirtless and visibly shaken, he was also seen identifying the bodies of his wife and child.
The biggest tragedy was that he was not alone in despair.
Less than 40 minutes before the landslide struck three houses and left mother and son buried, firefighters were called to another landslide at Kampung Maragang Tuntul at 9.20am.
Three people were reportedly trapped in their home.
A team of eight firemen arrived within 14 minutes and immediately began search and rescue efforts.
Villagers joined rescuers in digging out the buried victims, using shovels, hoes, other tools and even their bare hands in a frantic attempt to reach them.
Compounding the tragedy, a third landslide struck Kampung Cenderakasih, near here, burying 11 members of a family in their wooden house.
Four were rescued, including one with a broken leg.
A woman and four children were later found dead.
As of press time, two more victims, a woman and a child, remain missing.
The search, involving 76 personnel from multiple agencies, is ongoing.
Residents nearby have been told to evacuate due to fears of further landslides.
Kota Kinabalu police chief Asst Comm Kasim Muda said the victims may be immigrants, though this information has yet to be confirmed.
