The first body to be retrieved was that of a man identified as Ooi Chee Wei, 39. It was followed five minutes later by the recovery of the second body, identified as that of a woman, Lee Tze Juin, 32.

Bernama reported Ipoh police chief ACP A Asmadi Abdul Aziz as saying that the identity of the man, who worked with an oil and gas company, was later confirmed by his wife who came from Kuala Lumpur today.

Meanwhile, Perak acting police chief Goh Boon Keong said the bodies were found by a search and rescue team near the jacuzzi area of the hotel.

He said police received a call from the resort owner saying a landslide had occurred at about 2.15am.

“A search and rescue operation was carried out immediately but was temporarily halted as there were still soil movements at the scene. The search resumed at 7am today,” he said.

The bodies were sent to Hospital Raja Permaisuri Bainun for post-mortem.