SEARCH FOR FIFTH LANDSLIDE B.ANTARABANGSA VICTIM CALLED OFF

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 11 (Bernama) -- The search and rescue (SAR) operation to
find the fifth victim, a Sri Lankan maid believed to be buried alive in
Saturday's landslide in Bukit Antarabangsa, has been called off.

Selangor police chief Khalid Abu Bakar said the decision was made by
the SAR Committee after efforts to find Mary Lourdes, the housemaid of
veterinarian Dr N.Yogeswari, who perished in the landslide, failed.

"We stopped the SAR operation at 2pm Wednesday, but a team led by the Fire
and Rescue Department was formed to make the search if there are any new leads,"
he told a news conference here Wednesday.

Khalid said the SAR operation to find the maid was resumed early yesterday,
covering a 5m radius around Yogeswari's damaged house.

"We have found the maid's room and have even entered every room in the
house, but still we failed to find a lead," he said.

He said the Sri Lankan High Commissioner and the woman's employer had been
informed that the operation had been called off.

Meanwhile, Selangor Fire and Rescue Department chief Saimon Jahid said
the
team had used various manual and electronic detectors in the SAR operation but
to no avail.

"We did not have any clue of the victim's exact position but efforts to
locate her are being carried out even with the cleaning work in progress," he
said at the same news conference.

On Tuesday, the SAR team found what was believed to be the remains of the
victim near the spot where Yogeswari's body was found but it was later confirmed
that the remains was those of a dog.

In another development, Khalid said 54 families of the first residential
block in Wangsa 11 were allowed to return home Wednesday after the Public Works
Department and Public Works Institute of Malaysia (Ikram) verified the safety of
their homes.

The decision on the second block as well as four other housing estates in
the vicinity of the landslide will be known on Dec 16.

However, he said, several residents refused to wait and had decided to
return home before the decision.

"This concerns lives. I hope the residents will be patient. Of course we
do not have the right to prevent them from going home, but they have to think of
their safety first," he said.

-- BERNAMA