30-8-2024 (KUALA LUMPUR) The search for an Indian national who vanished into a sinkhole on Jalan Masjid India has hit another stumbling block, as the Malaysian Fire and Rescue Department’s latest attempt to locate the missing individual ended without success.
In the early hours of this morning, a team of two scuba divers from the JBPM Northern Region Academy embarked on a perilous mission to explore a nearby sewer channel. The operation, which commenced at 4 am, aimed to reach a suspected backlog area approximately 44 metres from the site of the initial incident.
Prior to the dive, the search and rescue (SAR) team had employed innovative tactics to improve conditions for the divers. Part of the channel was sealed off, and water inflow was redirected, successfully reducing the water level from 1.5 metres to a more manageable 0.8 metres. This approach mirrored strategies utilised in previous attempts.
The night before saw a flurry of activity at the site, with a crane arriving at 11:20 pm to extract an unspecified object from the sinkhole. High-powered pumps, capable of moving 10,000 and 20,000 litres respectively, were also deployed in an effort to drain water from the sewer channel.
Despite these preparatory measures, the dive team encountered significant obstacles during their 30-minute exploration. SAR team members reported that the divers struggled against strong currents and had to navigate through large quantities of rocks and sand within the channel. These challenging conditions ultimately prevented the team from reaching the targeted backlog area.
The operation was conducted under the watchful eyes of JPBM director-general Datuk Nor Hisham Mohammad and Dang Wangi police chief ACP Sulizmie Affendy Sulaiman, both of whom were present at the scene to oversee the SAR efforts.
