A resident of Sungai Ruil Orang Asli settlement heard an explosion during the landslide but thought it was thunderstorm.

Minah Bahu, 50, said her house was located adjacent to the last house buried in the landslide.

"I was cooking in the kitchen at about 4pm during heavy rainfall. Suddenly I heard an explosion but thought it was the sound of thunder," she told reporters when met at the scene early today.

She then shouted at her 11 family members to get out of the house to flee to safety.

All the villagers who had also fled their homes later found that three houses had been buried by a landslide.

Minah said the villagers tried to find occupants of three houses buried in the landslide. There was panic everywhere.

"Villagers managed to find three people but all had died while two others were seriously hurt."

She said an ambulance which tried to reach the tragedy scene was prevented from reaching when the road was flooded.

"However, we carried victims to the ambulance to save their lives. The first victim found was a woman who later died from serious injury. She died while being carried to the ambulance."

The houses buried by the landslide were believed to have been built near a water passage.

The landslide skilled seven people, four women and three men. Two others were seriously hurt in the landslide at Orang Asli settlement in Sungai Ruil, Brinchang in Cameron Highlands.

The landslide and mudflow from heavy rainfall buried three houses in the settlement located two kilometres off Jalan Brinchang-Tanah Rata.

Sungai Ruil Orang Asli settlement has 45 houses inhabited by about 1,300 residents and is the oldest Orang Asli settlement here.

- Bernama