Video: Indian Woman Swallowed by 8-metre Sinkhole in Kuala Lumpur, Rescue Ops Underway

Kuala Lumpur: Moments after an Indian woman fell into a sinkhole in Kuala Lumpur's Masjid India neighborhood, Malaysian rescuers rushed to her aid. The 48-year-old woman was swallowed by an 8-meter-deep sinkhole that appeared under the pavement.

The sinkhole along Jalan Masjid India emerged on a busy street between a shopping center and the Masjid India mosque, an area that was hit by flash floods on Thursday afternoon due to overflowing rivers. A video of the incident has also surfaced online and shows how the woman walking on the pavement was suddenly swallowed inside the sinkhole.

Dang Wangi police chief Assistant Commissioner Sulizmie Affendy Sulaiman said 90 personnel from various agencies have joined in the operation. He said initial investigations revealed the woman was walking before she was swallowed by the sinkhole.

"Based on eye witness accounts of the incident, a search was immediately activated for the woman. The agencies involved in the search and rescue efforts so far are the police, Fire and Rescue Department, Kuala Lumpur City Hall, Civil Defence Force and Kuala Lumpur Hospital," he told.

Mohd Riduan Akhyar, commander of the Kuala Lumpur Fire and Rescue Department's Special Tactical Operation and Rescue Team (STORM), reported that both STORM and K-9 units were deployed for the rescue. He confirmed that the victim had fallen into the sinkhole and was buried underground.

Rescue operations began after an emergency call at 8:22 a.m., involving more than 15 rescuers. The victim, reportedly a tourist, was walking with her family when the ground collapsed beneath her. 

Rescuers used excavators and ladders to access the sinkhole, which contains utility pipes and signs of underground water flow. Efforts to reach her continued into the afternoon.