BETONG: A motorist escaped calamity in the nick of time when her pick-up truck almost plunged into a 30-foot crater caused by a landslide at Jalan Buai Melanjan, Ulu Padeh here early yesterday.
“I am fortunate that someone helped. Otherwise, me and my vehicle might have slipped into the crater,” said Diana Janting, 44, who was on her way to the market yesterday morning. The incident happened around 6am.
“I managed to get out of the car with the help of some locals who happened to be there. They even pulled my (pickup) vehicle and prevented it from falling into the 30-foot crater created by the landslide,” said Diana who suffered injuries to her lips which she knocked against the steering wheel.
Betong Fire and Rescue (Bomba) Operations officer Henry Jugah, who was at the scene, confirmed that Jalan Buai Melanjan was cut off after a section of the road disappeared into a 30-foot deep crater as a result of the landslide.
As a result, road connectivity to nine longhouses in the area was disrupted.
“Residents can use the orchard road from ‘Stesen Pertanian Layar’. However, only four-wheel drive vehicles can pass through,” he said.
JKR Betong Division engineer Chiresly Francis Kureng, when contacted, said the landslide at Jalan Buai Melanjan was due to flooding and overflowing at the site.
“The reinstatement will begin this afternoon.
“If there are no obstacles, a road diversion will be constructed by noon tomorrow,” he said yesterday.
