Singapore drainage company volunteers to help in searching for woman who fell into sinkhole 5 days ago in KL Malaysia

SINGAPORE: A waste management company from Singapore has offered its assistance with finding a woman who fell into an eight-meter sinkhole while walking along the pavement in front of Malayan Mansion at Jalan Masjid India in Kuala Lumpur last Friday (Aug 23).

The incident occurred at 8:22 on Friday morning. The woman has been identified as 48-year-old Madam Vijayaletchumy. She is a tourist from Kuppam in Andhra Pradesh, India. A video of the mishap has been widely shared online.

As of Monday (Aug 26), four days after the woman fell into the sinkhole, there has been no sign of her, although the sandals she had been wearing have been found.

“The search will continue until the victim is found,” local police chief Sulizmie Affendy Sulaiman said after the mishap occurred.

On Monday, the Kuala Lumpur City Hall media unit said that the Fire and Rescue Department at the Indah Water Konsoritium Pantai Dalam plant is carrying out operations to find the victim.

It said that from Sunday night to early Monday morning, it performed flushing operations at a manhole near where the incident occurred. It advised the public to avoid the area to ensure their efforts would not be hampered.

Personnel from the Fire and Rescue Department and Civil Defence Force were spotted near the manhole on Monday morning, bearing equipment to aid their efforts.

After hearing that flushing was among the ways tapped to find the 48-year-old woman, Jetters Incz Pte Ltd said in a statement that it was offering its services to help find her for free.

“As specialists in this field, we would like to offer our voluntary assistance to support the ongoing investigation and search efforts,” Malay Mail quotes the company as saying.

Jetters Incz Pte Ltd added that its team is equipped with advanced technology and has the needed skills to “effectively manage and navigate complex drainage systems, which we believe could be instrumental in the current situation.”

Mdm Vijayaletchumy’s eldest son, Surya, 26, made a tearful appeal for his mum’s rescue. “Please save my mother. This is not why I brought her here to Malaysia,” he said.

The victim’s husband is in Malaysia as well. Their family is said to have been enjoying a two-month holiday in the country but was reportedly expected to return to India soon. /TISG

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