KUALA LUMPUR: All 3,000 residents in the critical area of Bukit Antarabangsa have been evacuated.

Search and rescue efforts are now concentrated on finding the missing Sri Lankan woman, Lourdes Mary, who is the maid of Dr N. Yogeswari, the veterinarian who was among the four killed in Saturday's landslide.

Selangor police chief DCP Datuk Khalid Abu Bakar said rescue operations for Lourdes Mary, who is in her 30s, was ongoing but often stopped due to soil instability.

He said excavation works to clear the fallen tonnes of earth and rubble was halted for the second consecutive day.

DCP Khalid also said a bridge had been erected to allow trapped residents to get out.

The 300m bridge, the second constructed by the Army, was completed at 6.30pm yesterday. It connects Taman Bukit Mewah and Impiana Selatan Apartments. Residents from several housing estates have begun using the bridge.

DCP Khalid said residents could retrieve their documents and belongings before 6.30pm when it got too dark and dangerous.

He also said the Romanian ambassador and his wife living in Oakley Garden were evacuated with the help of a police four-wheel drive.

Selangor Mentri Besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim said evacuated residents would know if it was safe for them to return to their homes within the next 10 days.

He said the authorities were keeping tabs on the area to ascertain if there were further soil movements in the area.

"The study can be finalised faster but we are giving ourselves 10 days to ensure everything is well at the site," he said here yesterday.

Khalid said Ikram would conduct a soil test on hillside projects to inform potential buyers on the stability of the areas. The study would be carried out over a period of three months as it involved over 90 hillside projects that had been approved by the previous state government.