Malaysia searching manholes, sewage plant again for sinkhole victim as mayor declares Kuala Lumpur ‘safe’

KUALA LUMPUR: Rescuers in Kuala Lumpur are still using high-pressure jets of water to cut through debris along two manholes in search of a 48-year-old Indian tourist who fell into a sinkhole on Jalan Masjid India last Friday, Malaysian authorities said on Monday evening (Aug 26).
They are conducting the operation between the manhole at the incident location, and another one 69m away.
Dang Wangi police chief, Assistant Commissioner Sulizmie Affendy Sulaiman, told reporters that the water-jetting operation was focused on a sewage pipe near a manhole at the Wisma Yakin building.
“Early today morning, we had used a camera crawler in the sewerage and at a depth of about 4m, we noticed objects that looked like hard rock. 
“We have been using the jetting technique to break the debris so that when it breaks, any objects including the body of a human will get past the objects,” he said during an update of the search and rescue work.
He said that there was still debris that had not been removed. “We will clear Wisma Yakin first because we see a lot of debris there,” he said. 
“We are afraid that there is something behind that debris,” he added.
He reiterated search and rescue operations – which have gone on for more than 81 hours – would continue until the sinkhole victim, identified as Ms Vijayaletchumy, is found.
Asked if overseas experts would be roped in, ACP Affendy said the rescue operation will tap local expertise for now. Earlier, a Singapore wastewater company had offered to help.
Before the water-jetting operation on Monday, rescuers had conducted a flushing operation from Sunday evening until 2am on Monday at a different manhole farther away where slow-flowing water was observed.
Rescuers are also continuing to search Pantai Dalam treatment plant, where the sewer ends, said Kuala Lumpur City Hall.
Ms Vijayaletchumy had disappeared after falling into the 8m-deep sinkhole in front of Malayan Mansion on Jalan Masjid India while walking to a nearby temple last Friday morning.
She was reportedly on a two-month holiday in Malaysia with her family and was due to return home soon.
Since the incident, claims from 2015 have resurfaced on social media that there was potential for a “giant sinkhole” to emerge in the capital at any time.
But on Sunday, Kuala Lumpur mayor Maimunah Mohd Sharif said the city “remains safe unless proven otherwise by studies”.
The city has been developed for a long time and claims that it was unsafe for development must be backed up by strong evidence, she said, as reported by news agency Bernama.
In response, a task force that includes the Department of Minerals and Geosciences, Kuala Lumpur City Hall, the Royal Malaysia Police and the Public Works Department has been set up to study the safety of development in the capital, she said.
“Based on the current situation, Kuala Lumpur remains safe unless proven otherwise by studies,” Ms Maimunah said.