Did You Know: 51 Years Ago, A Loud Boom In Ipoh Unleashed A Disaster That Claimed 40 Lives
A loud boom heard this week has triggered memories of one of Perak's worst tragedies.
By Sadho Ram — 24 Oct 2024, 12:35 PM
Earlier this week, a loud, unexplained boom shook several areas around Ipoh, raising concern among residents
So far, there has been no official explanation for it. Authorities have ruled out any kind of explosion or quarry blasting activities, and the Malaysian Meteorological Department reports no seismic activity.
However, the incident has triggered memories of a similar boom heard 51 years ago, which preceded a rockfall that killed 40 people and destroyed 20 houses, leaving a community still reeling from one of Perak's worst tragedies.
The Gunung Cheroh rockfall occurred at about 7pm during a heavy downpour on 18 October 1973, just a week before Deepavali, while the Indian Malaysian community living near the site was busy preparing for the festival.
Coincidently, the latest incident also occurred just days before Deepavali, which falls on 31 October.
Notably, the explosion heard this Monday morning is the third such incident since 2012, with the second one occurring in 2018, as confirmed by the Perak Mineral and Geoscience Department.
The night the rocks fell reshaped Ipoh's landscape, leaving a lasting mark on its people
According to the New Straits Times, the 1973 rockfall was a catastrophic event that wiped out homes and left a deep scar on the village of kacang putih traders living at the foot of Gunung Cheroh.
They had migrated from Ettayapuram, Tamil Nadu, under British rule, and built a thriving community in Ipoh, only for their lives to be shattered in an instant. Only 12 bodies were recovered, while the rest were never found.
"We were watching Tamil news when the power went out, and moments later, a relative came running, shouting that the hill had collapsed. We couldn't see anything because it was pitch dark," one survivor, Subrumaniam Thangavelu, who was just 14 at the time, recalled the events during an interview in 2020.
"Soldiers arrived later to help retrieve the bodies."
He also recounted a local legend that seemed to foreshadow the disaster.
"A mysterious old woman had once visited the village, warning that the rocks would fall. The villagers dismissed her as insane. I'm not sure how true that is," he added, reflecting on the eerie tale.
According to the Ipoh Echo newspaper, rockfall incidents on Gunung Cheroh had previously occurred in 1927 and 1940. However, the 1973 disaster was the most significant.
After the 1973 tragedy, the state government relocated the surviving kacang putih traders to Buntong, where they rebuilt their lives and established Kampung Kacang Putih, now a thriving community in Ipoh
However, the original village at the base of Gunung Cheroh remains abandoned. The limestone slab that caused the disaster still sits where it fell.
The kacang putih traders return to the temple near the old village each year, three days after Deepavali, to hold prayers in remembrance of the lives lost.
Though the site may now seem forgotten, its legacy continues in the memories of the survivors and their descendants, who were once again jolted by the loud sound heard on Monday.
Families of the Gunung Cheroh rockfall victims holding a remembrance ceremony last year.
Image via Bernama