Representative image of a sinkhole.
Credit: iStock Photo
A second sinkhole appeared in the heart of Kuala Lumpur on Wednesday, just 50 meters away from where a woman was swallowed into the ground last week and remains missing.
The new sinkhole, located on a road a little over a mile’s walk from the glittering Petronas Twin Towers, has been cordoned off as authorities inspect the sewage pipes in the area for further damage, according to the Kuala Lumpur City Hall.
While no casualties were reported Wednesday, it’s the same road where a woman fell and disappeared after the earth abruptly opened up beneath her feet. Search and rescue operations for the Indian national, now in its sixth day, have been hampered by heavy rainfall in the capital.
A 1.5-meter sewage pipe runs beneath the road, and the Mineral and Geoscience Department is evaluating the integrity of the land, according to the city hall. The area, known as Jalan Masjid India, is a popular tourism spot, lined with shops and street stalls selling an assortment of food, trinkets and textiles.
Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil said Wednesday that several manholes have been explored in their search for the missing woman, who was in her 40s. No decision has been made on when to call off the search and rescue efforts, he said at a press briefing in the administrative capital of Putrajaya.
A separate hole had also opened up along Jalan Pantai Permai in Kuala Lumpur, according to Fahmi, a road that’s about a twenty-minute drive away from where the woman fell.
“The core issue is management of drainage,” he said.