KUALA LUMPUR: The gruelling search and rescue (SAR) operation for Vijayalaksmi will see the flushing of two manholes again after it was discovered that the water flow in the sewage system was slow.
Kuala Lumpur Fire and Rescue Department deputy director Rozihan Anwar Mamat said they were manhole five, located near Bank Pertanian at Lebuh Pasar Besar, and manhole six, near the Kinabalu roundabout.
ALSO READ: Geographical factors caused sinkhole, says Fadillah
He said Saturday’s arduous hours-long search of all six manholes had turned up no results, other than slow water flow at manholes five and six.
“As a result, we decided to conduct another search of these two manholes.
“For now, we are not sure what is causing this, but it could be debris or something else that is blocking the flow of water,” he told a press conference at the site of the sinkhole at Jalan Masjid India here yesterday.
Kuala Lumpur Mayor Datuk Seri Maimunah Mohd Sharif said the flushing operation would be conducted along with a rigorous search operation at the sewage system endpoint at the Indah Water Konsortium (IWK) sewage plant in Pantai Dalam here.
Challenging operation: Firefighters and SAR team opening a manhole chamber in search of Vijayalaksmi in Jalan Masjid India, Kuala Lumpur. — AZLINA ABDULLAH/The Star
“Preparations are underway and the flushing is expected to begin later,” she told the same press conference.
ALSO READ: 'Flushing' method to be used in search for sinkhole victim
IWK chief executive officer Narendran Maniam said the flushing method would not use any high-pressure water nozzle.
“We plan to build up water pressure naturally by blocking the water flow to manholes five and six temporarily.
“The water will then be released once pressure is built up to flush away any debris or blockage at the sewage system,” he said.
Dang Wangi OCPD Asst Comm Sulizme Affendy Sulaiman said the search would continue indefinitely even if the flushing produced no results.
“We cannot ascertain yet how long the SAR will be conducted.
ALSO READ: Instil infrastructure maintenance culture, say experts
“But rest assured that the search will be conducted until the victim is found,” he said.
Vijayalaksmi, 48, a tourist from India, fell into the 8m-deep sinkhole after the ground gave way under her while she was walking to a nearby temple at 8.22am on Friday.
ACP Sulizme said according to Vijayalaksmi’s sister, the victim had disappeared immediately after she fell into the sinkhole.
