Tourist swallowed by sinkhole in Kuala Lumpur, search continues
A resident watching as the search continues for a woman who fell into a sinkhole in Kuala Lumpur on Aug 23. PHOTO: BERNAMA via The Straits Times/Asia News Network
KUALA LUMPUR – The Malaysian authorities were on Aug 27 still searching for an Indian national who vanished without a trace after falling into an 8m-deep sinkhole four days before, with the search area enlarged to include sewer tunnels about 7km away.
The shocking incident has turned the usually bustling shopping district of Jalan Masjid India where it occurred into a mini ghost town as shoppers mostly avoided the area, amid concerns about other possible sinkholes occurring.
Some parts of the main street have also been cordoned off by the police, with access only to rescue and search workers, government officials and the media.
READ: Huge sinkhole swallows bus, kills six in China
At the search site on Aug 27 was a ground-penetrating radar device to scour the soil using electromagnetic waves, local media reported, with the equipment brought in by the Malaysian Nuclear Agency.
Article continues after this advertisementThe agency joined the Fire Department, Kuala Lumpur City Hall, the police, wastewater management company Indah Water Konsortium, and the Public Works Department in the search for the missing tourist.
Article continues after this advertisementMs Vijayalaksmi, 48, from India’s Andhra Pradesh state, fell into the sinkhole that appeared out of nowhere on the pavement in Jalan Masjid India on Aug 23. She was heading towards a nearby temple.
READ: Cars swallowed by sinkhole outside Italy hospital
The authorities believe the woman was then swept into the sewer tunnels below, with gushing water running underground at the time due to recent heavy rain.
Ms Vijayalaksmi and her family had been in Malaysia for about two months and were due to fly home on Aug 24.
Her husband, who was with her in Kuala Lumpur, and her son, who flew in from Thailand on the day of the incident, were too distraught to speak to reporters. The authorities have provided a counsellor for the family members, whose visas have been extended for a month.
The family members, it is understood, have been waiting for updates at the police operational tent in Jalan Masjid India, located behind police lines where the media is not allowed access.
READ: Japan street swallowed by giant hole reopens
So far, only a pair of slippers belonging to the victim has been found, on Aug 24, according to officials.
Indah Water has been using high-powered water jets to try to dislodge debris in a manhole about 70m from the sinkhole.
A police officer overseeing the search, Assistant Commissioner Sulizmie Affendy Sulaiman, told the media that the authorities believe dislodging the debris could help reveal the victim’s location.
Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil, who was at the Indah Water plant in Pantai Dalam, about 7km south-west of Jalan Masjid India, on Aug 27, said all wastewater from that shopping area flowed to the plant.
“I was made to understand that all the sewage water (in the city) will end up here and will not go beyond this point” due to metal screens placed underground, with the authorities periodically sending workers below to carry out inspections, he was quoted as saying by Bernama news agency.
READ: Colorado driver luckily gets off vehicle before being swallowed by sinkhole
In Jalan Masjid India and places around it, traders were wringing their hands as shoppers, tourists and locals have mostly disappeared in the wake of the incident.
The area, which means Indian Mosque Road in Malay, is dominated by a large red mosque, a reflection of its Indian-Muslim heritage in the early days of Kuala Lumpur.
Located just two LRT stations away from Petronas Twin Towers, Jalan Masjid India is renowned for its goldsmiths and jewelers, as well as low-priced goods ranging from colorful Malay bajus to Indian saris.
“We’ve been hit very hard. There’s been zero customers since the accident happened,” Maharaja Jewellers salesman Mohamed Nasir told The Straits Times.
READ: Tourist describes ‘ordeal’ of falling into New Zealand geothermal sinkhole
He said the business has 15 employees and the company will be forced to dip into its savings if the situation does not improve.
“I don’t mind the authorities closing up the main street, but at least allow some space for pedestrians to walk through,” said the 62-year-old, whose shop is located a mere 10m away from the sinkhole.
Some shops near the sinkhole have remained shuttered due to the lack of business and traders’ concerns about safety.
Similarly, Mr Shaik Mohd Ali Shaik Mohd told ST that his business has suffered, but to a lesser extent than some other shops as it is located farther away from ground zero.
“We usually have around 100 customers a day. Now we are lucky if we have 25…
“I’m also very angry with the fake news about this going viral; it’s driving more customers away,” said the manager of Little India Jewellers. He was referring to an image of Kuala Lumpur sitting atop a giant limestone cave that has gone viral.
That image followed claims about a study purportedly conducted by a so-called geologist, Professor Sarah Jamal, from Universiti Malaya. But the university said in a statement on Aug 26 that no such academic works there, and that there was no geologist by that name in the Board of Geologists Malaysia.
Although sinkholes are not a common occurrence, a few incidents of cars being swallowed up by sinkholes have been reported in Kuala Lumpur over the years.
As the search entered its fifth day, Malaysian Water and Wastewater Quality Safety Association president G. Parameswaran gave ST the grim prognosis that it is unlikely Ms Vijayalaksmi has survived, after being trapped in the sewer system for days.
“There are a few things that could have happened and (that’s) why the authorities could not find her yet. The sewer system is full of toxic gas which would kill anyone without proper protection. She would have been poisoned the moment she fell in.
“Sewage water is also very harsh, and the current has a minimum flow speed of 1m per second. Theoretically, she could have travelled up to 86.4km within 24 hours,” said Datuk Parameswaran.
Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has vowed that the government will not give up in its efforts to find the unfortunate tourist, with more than 100 rescuers, including scuba diving units, scouring the sewers.
On whether Kuala Lumpur is safe, Mayor Maimunah Mohd Sharif said on Aug 25 that the incident is an isolated one, and the nation’s capital is safe unless studies show otherwise.
The government has created a task force involving the Department of Minerals and Geosciences, Kuala Lumpur City Hall, the police and the Public Works Department to study the safety of development in the city.
