Sidewalk sinkhole swallows woman alive
Photo courtesy Bomba Kuala Lumpur
KUALA LUMPUR - A 26-foot-deep hole suddenly opened in a sidewalk Friday, swallowing a tourist who was one day from ending her months-long vacation to Malaysia.
The dramatic scene unfolded in the Malaysian capital of Kuala Lumpur just after 8 a.m. local time. Surveillance video circulating on social media showed the woman walking with several other people in the Dang Wangi area when a section of the sidewalk disappeared beneath her.
A bystander partially fell into the hole – estimated to be 8 meters, or 26 feet, deep – but was able to lift himself out. There has been no sign of the woman, though, and police chief Rusdi Mohamad Isa said there was a strong water flow underground that may have swept her away.
A search-and-rescue effort was still ongoing Friday night, but the water current was hampering their work. Rescuers were using an excavator to clear the hole but Rusdi told local media that gas and water pipes in the area meant they had to work carefully and deliberately.
A "soil slip" had been reported last year in the same location where the sinkhole appeared, the Associated Press reported, but officials said that it had been fixed. Nearby businesses were shut down as a precaution.
According to The Star, the woman is a 48-year-old tourist who had been in Malaysia for two months and was due to return home to India the following day.