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At least 21 campers dead 

At least 21 campers dead

At least 21 people including children have been killed after a landslide hit a holiday campsite in Malaysia’s Selangor state.

Families were sleeping in their tents when the landslide happened around 03:00 Friday (19:00 GMT Thursday) at a farm stay in Batang Kali township.

Hundreds of rescuers spent Friday digging through mud to find survivors.

The farm’s managers said at least 30 children and 51 adults were registered for an overnight stay.

Local media reported that Malaysian authorities said 14 people were still missing, and that about 700 officials were involved in the search and rescue.

The Malaysian fire department said at least four children were among the dead.

More than 20 primary school teachers and their family members were at the campsite, according to a New Straits Times report.

Malaysia’s fire and rescue department said a 30m (100ft) high slope impacted the campsite in “a terrible tragedy”. Government authorities noted that the landslide involved about 450,000 sq m of soil.

Local Government Development Minister Nga Kor Ming said the camping site had been operating illegally.

Mr Nga also said he ordered all “high-risk” camping sites – those located along rivers, waterfalls and hillsides – across Malaysia to be immediately closed for seven days.

Deputy Prime Minister Zahid Hamidi echoed the message, warning that the weather was expected to worsen in the coming days.

“We have to learn from what has happened today,” he said.

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