Kuala Lumpur sinkhole rescue draws a blank as blame game erupts in Malaysia
- The victim, a 48-year-old Indian tourist, vanished without a trace on Friday. Hopes of finding her alive are dimming by the hour
Vijaya Lakshmi Gali, a 48-year-old Indian woman, vanished without a trace on Friday morning when the pavement beneath her feet suddenly gave way, plunging her into an 8-metre-deep chasm in the bustling Masjid India district of Kuala Lumpur.
The horrific episode, captured on CCTV, has now morphed from a desperate rescue effort into what appears to be a grim recovery operation.
“It’s impossible to predict when and where a sinkhole will occur,” Deputy Prime Minister Fadillah Yusof, who also serves as the minister in charge of water, told reporters on Sunday, seeking to reassure a jittery public.
“This phenomenon doesn’t only happen in Malaysia, but also around the world, particularly in areas with limestone and specific geological conditions.”
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Indian tourist vanishes after being swallowed by 8-metre sinkhole in Kuala Lumpur
But the revelation that the exact same spot had collapsed just last year before being hastily patched up sparked disbelief and outrage online, with some social media users accusing authorities of “negligence of duties”.
Charles Santiago, chairman of the National Water Services Commission, said the authorities needed to inspect and upgrade infrastructure “in old localities, such as Masjid India” to avoid more loss of life and livelihoods. “We need to ensure this incident doesn’t repeat,” he said.
Yet with only the victim’s slippers found so far, hopes of finding her alive dimmed by the hour.
Online outrage
Malaysians expressed their outrage online about the hastily patched-over sinkhole.
“The danger wasn’t resolved in a full and satisfactory [way],” fumed one. Others directly blamed the authorities.
Kuala Lumpur mayor Maimunah Mohd Sharif sought to quell public anxiety, insisting on Sunday that the tragedy was an isolated incident and that the city “remains safe unless proven otherwise”. She announced the formation of a task force, including geological and public works experts, to investigate the matter.
The victim, originally from Andhra Pradesh, was on the last day of a two-month tour of Malaysia when disaster struck. She had been scheduled to fly home the following day.
But according to specialists, the powerful currents in the 1.5-metre-wide sewer lines beneath Kuala Lumpur could have swept the victim as far as 86km away within the first 24 hours.
“There is little point in continuing the search,” said G Parameswaran, president of the Malaysian Water and Wastewater Quality Safety Association, on Sunday – urging authorities to call off the operation and presume that the victim was dead.
