Soil slip occured at sinkhole location previously - KL police chief

KUALA LUMPUR: A soil slip was reported last year at the same location where the sinkhole occurred in Jalan Masjid India here this morning.

Kuala Lumpur police chief Datuk Rusdi Mohd Isa said related authorities had fixed the situation at that time, adding that the search for the Indian woman who was swallowed by today's sinkhole needed to be carried out with precision planning.

"We are conducting the search and rescue effort in stages as Indah Water Konsortium has their plan and there is swift water flow there.

"I'm informed that if water is closed, a flood will occur here so we need a strategy with the advice from the Fire and Rescue Department," he said at a media conference at the location of the incident.

He also said checks found that the victim, 48, had come to Malaysia as a tourist two months ago with her husband and several other individuals and had expected to return home tomorrow and that the Indian embassy, who had been informed of the incident, had requested that the victim and her family's visas be extended.

Rusdi said traders have also been informed to close temporarily for safety reasons.

The entire incident was captured on CCTV footage, Rusdi said, adding that no movement was detected by witnesses after the victim fell.

Meanwhile, Kuala Lumpur Fire and Rescue Department deputy director Rozihan Anwar Mamat was reported to have said that the rescue team had earlier dug a wider area at the location of the sinkhole using Kuala Lumpur City Hall and privately-owned excavators in an effort to expand the search area for the victim.

-- BERNAMA

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