Eight killed, dozens missing in Malaysia landslide

At least eight people died after a landslide struck a Malaysian campsite Friday, officials said, as rescuers searched for dozens who were still missing.

At least eight people died after a landslide struck a Malaysian campsite Friday, officials said, as rescuers searched for dozens who were still missing.

Map of Malaysia, locating the town of Batang Kali, near where a deadly landslide struck a campsite on Friday. / AFP / STAFF

Seven people were injured in the landslide near the town of Batang Kali, just outside the capital Kuala Lumpur and near a mountain casino resort, the National Disaster Management Agency said in a tweet.

Landslides are common in Malaysia after heavy rains, which are regular at the end of the year. However, there were no heavy rains recorded overnight in Batang Kali.

The government has imposed strict rules with regards to hillside development, but landslides have continued to occur after bouts of bad weather.

In March, four people were killed after a massive landslide triggered by heavy rains buried their homes in a Kuala Lumpur suburb.

In one of the deadliest such incidents, a huge mudslide in 1993 brought on by heavy rain caused a 12-storey residential building outside the capital to collapse, killing 48 people.