THE search and rescue operation (SAR) to find the Indian national who fell into a sinkhole in Masjid India, Kuala Lumpur enters its eighth day today.
Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) said search team members on duty last night continued the search for the victim until 6am this morning.
They said three high-capacity electric pumps were used by the team to lower the water level up to 2.5 feet from the bottom of the pipe.
“This is so that the team can continue to re-examine the pipe alignment from manhole one (ground zero) until manhole two (Wisma Yakin),” DBKL’s corporate planning unit said in a statement today.
The department said heavy machinery was also used to carry out drilling to enable more suction pipelines to be used by Indah Water Konsortium (IWK) to reduce the water level to as low as possible.
“The search and rescue team attempted to enter the sewage pipeline through manhole one and manhole two, but the efforts failed because the route was narrow and there was an increased gas in the ducts, which was risky for the team,” it said.
DBKL said the search and rescue team were committed to continuing the search.
Meanwhile, Fire and Rescue Department director-general Nor Hisham Mohamad said the SAR operation has been halted at the sinkhole site on Jalan Masjid India but would continue at the Pantai Dalam IWK sewage plant.
According to a report by The Star, the decision was made after findings revealed that it was too risky to continue SAR activity using scuba diving methods.
He said the Fire Dept would suggest alternative methods to Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Federal Territories) Dr Zaliha Mustafa and DBKL at a meeting this afternoon to determine the direction of SAR efforts.
“Besides posing a high risk to scuba divers, there are also obstructions difficult for divers to navigate,” said Nor Hisham.
On August 23, an Indian woman, identified as Vijayalakshmi, was walking on a pavement with her family when she fell into a sinkhole and disappeared. – August 30, 2024.
