“We were sleeping when the incident happened at 2am. It was too dark to see clearly what was happening,” Leong Jim Meng, who had been camping there with his family, said.

Berita Harian quoted Leong as saying they were caught by surprise as it had not been raining heavily during the past few days, although there were drizzles.

He said his family was trapped after their tent was covered with debris but managed to escape to a nearby parking lot. They contacted the authorities, who arrived 30 minutes later.

The family has since been placed at the Hulu Yam Baru police station.

Teh Lynn Xuan, 22, said one of her younger brothers died in the incident while another was sent to hospital.

She said they could feel their tent losing stability when the landslide occurred. She and her mother managed to crawl to a safe space.

An employee at Father’s Organic Farm, Thawn Uk, 35, said he and 12 colleagues managed to escape from the site. One of them was injured in the leg and was sent to hospital.

Search and rescue operations are under way.

As of 11am, the death toll has risen to 13, according to health minister Dr Zaliha Mustafa.

Among the dead are a boy, a man and six women.