Published: Monday January 12, 2009 MYT 5:37:00 PM
Updated: Monday January 12, 2009 MYT 8:31:18 PM
Security guard believed crushed after Perak Tong rockfall
By CHRISTINA KOH
IPOH: Security guard Yip Lum Choon, who was reportedly missing after a rockfall at the Perak Cave Temple here on Sunday, is believed dead.
State chief Deputy Comm Datuk Zulkifli Abdullah said a canine unit from the Fire and Rescue Department detected the scent of a corpse at about 9.50am yesterday.
“His motorcycle was been left behind (at the temple) and we have confirmed that he has not turned up at home.
“Therefore, we believe he is the victim buried under the rocks,” DCP Zulkifli told reporters after a briefing at the scene on Monday.
Yip, 55, was among 18 people trapped after a rockfall destroyed the staircase within the temple popularly known as Perak Tong, leading to the peak of the limestone hill.
Fire and Rescue Department personnel managed to rescue 17 of the victims, including two seriously injured, at the summit.
However, the temple’s security guard remained unaccounted for.
DCP Zulkifli said a Special Malaysia Disaster Assistance and Rescue Team (Smart) taskforce was now digging through the rubble in an attempt to locate the body.
Some of the fallen boulders, he said, were the size of a 4WD vehicle scattered over a rockfall area measuring some 10m wide.
He added that if rescuers were unable to make progress, controlled explosives would be used on Tuesday to break up some of the larger boulders.
Explosives will be the last resort. We believe this is the best way after taking in the views of all the concerned departments.
“We have to be careful because the ground is still loose and we are afraid there might be more rockfalls from above,” he said.
DCP Zulkifli also urged Yip’s next of kin to contact the police as the victim apparently lived alone at his home in Kampung Baru Papan, Pusing.
At about 4.30pm, traces of clothing and a helmet, believed to belong to the victim, along with a temple donation box, were found within the rubble.
Search efforts halted at 5.20pm on Monday and will resume Tuesday.
Each year, tens of thousands of visitors come to see the unique 200-odd paintings and calligraphy on the cave walls that made the 5ha temple famous.
Perak Chief Minister Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin has ordered the popular cave temple closed indefinitely.
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