Sinkhole Incident: SAR Team To Begin Using Telescopic Camera In Latest Effort To Locate Victim

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 30 (Bernama) -- Various techniques, including jetting, flushing, and extracting water from the incident site, have been employed in the effort to locate an Indian woman who went missing in a sinkhole incident at Jalan Masjid India. However, the search and rescue (SAR) operation has yet to yield any results.

A telescopic camera will be used by the SAR team from tonight to help locate the body of the missing Indian national, identified as G. Vijaya Lakshmi, 48, who fell into an eight-metre-deep sinkhole in Jalan Masjid India at 8.22 am on Aug 23.

The camera equipment combines the technology found in push rod and crawler cameras and was offered free of charge by a private entity to the SAR team.

It is hoped that using the camera will help the team obtain clearer images, especially at the second manhole in the search area clogged with debris and backlog.

Earlier, Malaysian Fire and Rescue Department (JBPM) director-general Datuk Nor Hisham Mohammad said it was too risky for divers to continue with the SAR operation.

This, he said, was due to several risk factors, including strong underground water currents, limited space for rescuers, and the presence of debris and hard blockages in the search area. 

The government is also planning mitigation measures on the potential risk of sinkholes, which has become a public concern following the incident involving the Indian tourist.

Public Works Minister Datuk Seri Alexander Nanta Linggi said that the matter had been brought to the Cabinet's attention, and his ministry had decided to take immediate steps to identify high-risk areas, similar to how 2,000 landslide-prone locations were identified by the Public Works Department (JKR).

A Bernama survey at the pump station of the Indah Water Konsortium’s (IWK) Pantai Dalam plant today found that JBPM will continue to conduct twice-daily inspections of sewage and attempt to trace any leads in the search for the sinkhole victim until she is found.

Considering the sinkhole area at Jalan Masjid India as a high-risk zone, the surrounding area of Lorong Tuanku Abdul Rahman will be completely closed starting tomorrow (Aug 31) to facilitate the SAR operation and soil testing work using Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR).

In a statement, Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) announced that the closure around Lorong Tuanku Abdul Rahman and Masjid India was necessary to ensure the safety of traders and the public.

Batu MP P. Prabakaran, who met with representatives of the traders' association representing over 150 traders at Jalan Masjid India today, said that they intended to meet with relevant government agencies to discuss safety issues and the future of their businesses.

-- BERNAMA