KUALA LUMPUR – The operation to find the Indian national who disappeared after falling into a sinkhole on Jalan Masjid India is “flushing” out sewage from below ground to facilitate the search, the city’s mayor Datuk Seri Maimunah Mohd Sharif said.
She said this method, which she called the “flushing” technique, was decided upon after discussions between the search-and-rescue team and Indah Water Konsortium (IWK) as the search operation neared the end of its third day.
IWK will also complete mapping of the area’s sewerage system besides conducting an “integrity test”, she told a press conference after a visit to the site of the sinkhole incident today.
Maimunah said the search operation had focused on the manholes at Bank Pertain on Lebuh Pasar Besar and at the Kinabalu roundabout. These were the last two of six manholes in the area that were opened in stages since yesterday in the search for the victim.
Bernama, meanwhile, quoted Maimunah saying that the “flushing” technique would be employed because the sewage water flow at the fifth and sixth sewerage manholes was slow.
Kuala Lumpur is safe
Maimunah also took to task those spreading fears that the city’s foundations were not safe.
“Kuala Lumpur has been built for a long time and it has been safe all this while. If someone says it is unsafe, they must back their claims with evidence and detailed research,” she said, adding that the city’s residents and businesses can continue their daily routines.
Following the sinkhole incident on Friday morning, claims were made on social media that Kuala Lumpur is unsafe as parts of the ground beneath it was limestone, with underground caves and unstable soil.
Maimunah said these claims were baseless, and added that Kuala Lumpur City Hall had activated a task force comprising relevant government agencies including the Public Works Department and the Minerals and Geosciences Department to map and study the city’s soil and foundational integrity.
Meanwhile, Dang Wangi district police chief Sulizmie Affendy Sulaiman said at the same press conference the search operation for the sinkhole victim would continue until she was found.
The victim has been identified as Vijayalaksmi, 48, from India, who was here as a tourist for two months and was due to return home on Saturday.
Maimunah said the victim’s family members who are here waiting for her to be found will be given assistance in the form of counselling, food and accommodation. Police are also working with the Indian high commission to have their visas extended, she said. – August 25, 2024