Perplexed, Muhammad Fareez Hanudin, 21, tried to pick himself up when he found himself sinking fast and buried up to his chest in soft earth caused by a landslide.

Unable to breathe or move, he thought that the end was near.

“It happened very fast. I saw several vehicles which were parked by the roadside, plunge into a large hole about the size of a football field, caused by the landslide.

“The soft earth moved and flowed into my face…I could only pray and hope that I would be rescued.

“Fortunately, I was rescued by residents and sought outpatient treatment at the Selayang Hospital for an injured right hand and right leg,” he told reporters at a relief centre here, where 340 residents have sought temporary accommodation.

The fourth of eight siblings was inadvertently the sole victim of the landslide which was caused by swift water currents underground.

“I was discharged from the hospital this afternoon. I am so grateful and thankful to the residents who helped pull me out of the earth.

“Had the rescue come late, I might have been buried alive in the landslide,” he shuddered.

Another resident, Mohd Ramlan Mat Amin, 51, said only minor floods had occurred since Taman Idaman was opened 24 years ago. Nevertheless, the homes of residents had not been affected.

He said today’s landslide however affected several villages as the site was the main route to the area.

Earlier, Hulu Selangor police chief, Supt R Supramaniam declared the scene of the landslide a restricted ‘Red Zone’, and ordered 340 residents who lived there to temporarily evacuate to Sekolah Rendah Agama Serendah here for their own safety.