Police carrying the victims’ bodies into a truck after they were killed in a landslide at Forest Hill, Jalan Bundusan on Wednesday.
KOTA KINABALU (Sept 16): A husband never thought that his earlier conversation with his wife would be the last when the latter, together with the couple’s eight-month-old daughter and their niece, were killed in a landslide at Forest Hill, Jalan Bundusan here on Wednesday.
The bodies of Slmah Hamid, 25, eight-month-old Dayana Zul Azmil, and five-year-old Rosatima Asbirin, were found buried among soils and debris and were dug out by fire and rescue personnel in the 3.30pm incident on Sept 15.
Three other family members, Risdah Jabin, 22, Norsirah Asbirin, age three, and Juliana Zulazmi, age one, survived the landslide.
The husband, Zul Azmil Omar, 34, related that he had a small conversation with his wife prior to leaving the house at 9am.
“A friend had earlier asked me to help them at a nearby construction site.
“I told my wife that I was going to help a friend today and she said ‘ok’ and told me to be careful.
“Before I left, I asked her if she needed anything but she said no and we still have food supplies.
“While heading to the construction site, I noticed the weather started to change and around 2pm it started to rain heavily.
“Around 3.40pm, I got a call from a friend telling me to come home immediately as there was a landslide.
“I tried to rush home but got stuck halfway due to the flood.
“When I finally reached home, I saw my house had been buried by the landslide and found out that my wife and daughter were killed in the incident.
“I cannot imagine that was the last time I saw my wife and daughter,” he said, adding that he believed his family did not manage to escape as the landslide happened without any warning.
Meanwhile, Kota Kinabalu police chief ACP Mohd Zaidi Abdullah said the bodies were dug out by the fire and rescue services personnel and taken to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital for postmortem.
The remaining family members were also taken to the same hospital for further treatment and reported to be in stable condition, he said.
The case has been classified as sudden death.
Mohd Zaidi reminded the public, especially those living near hills, to take extra precaution especially during the raining season to avoid any untoward incident from happening.