KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 24: The search went into second day today for a woman who remains missing after falling into a sudden sinkhole that appeared in Jalan Masjid India here on Friday morning.
The woman, a tourist, has been identified as Vijayaletchumi, 48, from India. Her son, who arrived in Malaysia from Bangkok Friday night, has been making desperate pleas to authorities to help find his mother.
Meanwhile, media members and onlookers have continued to wait outside the perimeter that have been set up surrounding the sinkhole site, desperate for any development in the search for the unfortunate tourist who fell into the softened land as she was walking along Jalan Masjid India early Friday morning.
A video capturing the incident has also gone viral, showing the precise moment the woman fell into the sinkhole and a man who scrambled out on time to escape the sinkhole.
Late Friday night, Bernama reported that the search carried out by the Kuala Lumpur Fire and Rescue Department of Malaysia after 17 hours of search had only found a pair of slippers.
The department was alerted to the incident at 8.22 am and 15 firefighters with two fire engines from the Titiwangsa and Hang Tuah fire and rescue stations rushed to the incident location in front of Malayan Mansion.
According to the authorities, the victim was scheduled to return home with her family on Saturday after spending two months in Malaysia as a tourist.
Initial search and rescue efforts involved the Operations, Tactical and Rescue Special Team with the Fire Department’s K9 Unit’s tracking dogs and a crane belonging to Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) was used at 11.40 am to lift a concrete bench that also fell into the sinkhole, which rescuers feared had crushed the victim.
A firefighter and DBKL staff were also lowered into the eight-metre hole using the crane but a manual search failed to locate the victim, so excavators were used to dig up the area in an effort to expand the search.
The Fire and Rescue Department then added more personnel to the search due to the expanded area.
During the day, Dang Wangi district police chief ACP Sulizmie Affendy Sulaiman announced that the victim had been walking towards Lebuh Ampang and the police would be studying CCTV footage and taking statements from witnesses at the scene.
Later on, Kuala Lumpur police chief Datuk Rusdi Mohd Isa shared that the search would be conducted carefully in stages and as Indah Water Konsortium (IWK) had their own plan and there were the currents were fast flowing in the area, while Public Works Minister Datuk Seri Alexander Nanta Linggi urged the public to remain calm and to follow instructions issued by the authorities to enable work to be carried out properly.
As night fell, the search and rescue operation entered a new phase when two divers entered the sewer chamber to look for the victim.
Fire and Rescue Department Firefighting and Rescue Operations Division director Nordin Pauzi informed the media that the focus of the search at night had shifted towards the sewer line, in contrast to the day’s efforts at the area where the victim was reported to have fallen.
Finally, Kuala Lumpur police chief Datuk Rusdi Mohd Isa announced that the operation was suspended at 12.30 am for resumption today.– BERNAMA