Excavation work is being carried out at the quarry in Keramat Pulai, Jalan Simpang Pulai-Cameron Highlands, where Kheow Loo Siew Soon and Itam Lasoh who were working with an excavator, were believed to be buried.

The incident happened at 9.15am on March 8.

“We have also not found the excavator wreckage,” Sinar Harian quoted Perak fire and rescue department director Azmi Osman as saying.

He said the boulders, weighing 50 to 100 tonnes, were the biggest obstacles in the rescue work.

So far, 36 controlled explosions had been carried out, and more were being planned, he said.

Azmi said members of the Special Tactical Operation and Rescue Team of Malaysia (STORM) were still being deployed every two days at the scene.

They were being assisted by the police, the quarry management, the minerals and geosciences department and others.

Kheow, 49, and Itam, 43, are believed to have been buried at a depth of 10m to12m under the rubble.

Two other men escaped with minor injuries.