BATANG KALI, Dec 25 — The search and rescue (SAR) operation for the victims of the landslide tragedy at the Father’s Organic Farm campsite, here, which started on December 16, officially ended at noon today.

Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Acryl Sani Abdullah Sani said the decision was made after the police confirmed that there were no more missing victims.

"The police concluded that the number of victims involved in the landslide is 92. A total of 61 victims were rescued while 31 victims were killed in the landslide.

"Agencies such as the Public Works Department, the Department of Survey and Mapping, the Minerals and Geoscience Department and the Hulu Selangor Municipal Council are still conducting technical works at the site,” he told a press conference here.

The body of the last victim, believed to be a boy aged between seven and 12, was found at 4.53pm on the ninth day of the SAR operation yesterday.

Meanwhile, Acryl Sani had expressed the hope that this operation will become a template for future SAR operations.

"...each agency played its role as outlined in the National Security Council Directive No.20 (NSC 20), so there was no overlapping in duties,” he said.

He also expressed his appreciation to all the agencies involved in the SAR operation.

Acryl Sani said he hoped that the National Disaster Management Agency (Nadma) would organise a table talk on a regular basis involving all agencies in NSC 20 to ensure the smooth management of disaster operations in the future.

The landslide that hit in the early morning of Dec 16 took the lives of 31 victims, 18 adults and 13 children. The remaining 61 victims out of 92 reported victims survived.

The SAR operation area was divided into three search sectors, sector A, sector B (farm view) and sector C (river side), and involved over 250 rescue personnel from various agencies, K9 units and the use of heavy machinery.

The operation involved five main government agencies, the Royal Malaysia Police, the Malaysian Armed Forces, the Fire and Rescue Department, the Special Malaysia Disaster Assistance and Rescue Team (SMART) and the Civil Defence Force.

Overall, 20 bodies were found in sector A, one in sector B and 10 in sector C. — Bernama