SAR team remains committed on Day 9 of search for sinkhole victim

SAR team remains committed on Day 9 of search for sinkhole victim

The search by multiple agencies continued until 4am this morning with the use of a telescopic camera for clearer images, according to Bernama.

A view of the search efforts yesterday at the site in Jalan Masjid India where a woman fell into a sinkhole on Friday, Aug 23. (Bernama pic)
KUALA LUMPUR:
The search and rescue (SAR) team remains dedicated to finding the victim of the sinkhole incident at Jalan Masjid India, now in its ninth day of operations.

More than 115 officers and personnel were involved in the operation including those from the police, fire and rescue department, Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL), civil defence force, Indah Water Konsortium, Malaysian Nuclear Agency and the mineral and geoscience department.

A check by Bernama at the location at 9.30am this morning found that the SAR team members were already at the scene of the incident and the surrounding area to continue the search for the victim, but there has been no progress so far.

DBKL said last night the search would continue past midnight.

It is understood that the SAR team continued operations until 4am this morning, and used a telescopic camera to see a clearer image, especially in the two sewers in the search area which were found to be blocked due to debris and backlog.

The camera combines the technologies of both push rod and crawler cameras previously employed in the search efforts.

Meanwhile, a source close to the search operation indicated that Federal Territories minister Dr Zaliha Mustafa has been scheduled to hold a press conference at 2pm today.

On Aug 23, Vijayaletchumy, 48, a tourist from India, went missing after falling into an 8m-deep hole caused by a sinkhole on Jalan Masjid India while walking to a nearby temple.

A search and rescue (SAR) operation was launched the same day, involving security forces and local authorities. For the past eight days, the team has employed various techniques, including jetting, flushing, and pumping water out of the site to locate the victim.

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