Indian woman falls into sinkhole in Kuala Lumpur, video goes viral

Indian national Vijaya Lakshmi Gali was on her Malaysia trip of two months with her husband and several friends; they were supposed to return on Saturday

A 48-year-old Indian woman, identified as Vijaya Lakshmi Gali, fell into a sinkhole in Malaysia’s Kuala Lumpur on August 23, 2024. According to the report, the woman was walking on a pavement that collapsed beneath her. 

It has been five days since the woman fell into the 26 feet sinkhole, but the woman is still missing. The Malaysia police told the news agency AP that the woman was likely to be swept away by an underground water current. 

The Indian embassy in Malaysia shared a post on X stating that the search and operation teams are methodically deducing new probable paths. It also stated that the police, fire and rescue department, Indah Water Consortium, Kaula Lumpur, and federal territories agencies with civil defence forces are being involved in the rescue operations. 

 

- Indian national, on a two month holiday to ????????. Last day of her holiday.

-she was walking down the pavement w/ her family in KL

-Family members turn back and she had disappeared down a 8 meter sink hole

-Rescue Ops can't find her. 24hrs now
pic.twitter.com/BcNubpa7ZF

— Deep State ✪ އަނދިރި ދައުލަތް ???????? (@mvdeepstate) August 24, 2024

The High Commission of India, Kaula Lumpur, issued said, "After flushing through portions of the drain system, search is being augmented with specialised techniques including high-pressure water jets to remove obstacles, remote cameras and ground penetrating radars to map inaccessible areas."

They are in close contact with the relevant agencies who are engaged in the search operations as the search has entered its fifth day. "@hcikl officers are also in touch with the family members to extend continued support," it added.

The local police chief told AP that the woman came to Malaysia with her husband and several friends for a two month vacation and they were due to return home on Saturday.

Kuala Lumpur police chief Rusdi Mohamad Isa was quoted saying by Bernama news agency that the soil slip was reported in the same location last year where the sinkhole has been advised to close temporarily for safety purposes. 

Second sinkhole appears

Meanwhile, The Strait Times reported that a second sinkhole appeared in Jalan Masjid India – merely 50 metres away from where the ground opened up on August 23. The latest collapse happened at around 2:30 am on August 28 after a storm the previous night. The entire street has been cordoned off for vehicular movement and public.

The administration has today cordoned off the entire street to all vehicles and the public, compared with the previous day, when the police had cordoned off only an area of roughly 500m around the original sinkhole, the newspaper said.

Jalan Masjid India, the area where the incident occurred, is reported to be a popular tourism spot lined by shops and street stalls attracting many visitors.