00:00For undertaker Aristotle Jude Joseph, grief came with a cruel twist.
00:07The 41-year-old from Kampung Mook, Kota Kinabalu, faced the most painful duty of his life,
00:13preparing the remains of his own wife and son.
00:17Joseph lost his wife, 38-year-old health care assistant Emily Johnny,
00:21and their 11-year-old son, Zarel Meyer, when a landslide buried their home during the weekend's torrential rains.
00:28Only Joseph and his eldest son, 17-year-old Xavier Jr., survived.
00:34On that fateful Monday morning, just before 9 a.m., tons of earth came crashing into their home.
00:40Emily and Zarel were in one room, Xavier in another.
00:44Pinned under the rubble, Joseph recalled hearing his youngest son's faint cries before silence fell.
00:50Joseph said that silence would haunt him forever.
00:53With Xavier's help, Joseph managed to free his trapped leg and escape,
00:58but the regret of leaving Emily and Zarel behind weighs heavily on him.
01:03A video later showed Joseph's desperate pleas for help, begging for an excavator.
01:08Five hours later, rescuers recovered the bodies.
01:12Emily had been cradling her son, shielding him in a final act of love.
01:16Joseph wept as he described removing stones from his son's mouth and gently cleaning him,
01:21while Emily's face had already darkened.
01:24Now, father and son are left only with memories.
01:28Their family home flattened, their lives forever changed.
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