PETALING JAYA: The search and rescue (SAR) mission may have ended on a solemn note for missing 48-year-old Indian national Vijayalaksmi, but Malaysians have commended the 194-member team for the painstaking operation.
Aside from thanking the SAR team consisting of specialist divers, firemen, the K9 unit, the police, Indah Water Konsortium (IWK) among others, Malaysians also penned condolences to the family of Vijayalaksmi, who fell into a sinkhole in Masjid India last week.
On Facebook, Lawrence Lim said the SAR team had given their best in searching for the missing 48-year-old.
“Heroes you guys are. You gave your best in very challenging situations. Kudos.
“May the victim’s soul rest in peace. Condolences to the family of the victims,” said Lim.
Rubavathi Govindha Raj said the SAR team earned his respect, as they had gone ahead with the mission despite the hazardous factors involved.
“They, too, are human. Only they know what was underneath,” said Rubavathi.
Cissy Chow, Kamariyah Kamsah and Sumitha Mohandas Rao also thanked the SAR team for doing their best.
“Deepest condolences to the grieving family,” said Sumitha.
“I empathise deeply with them. I believe they will find the strength to overcome this loss. A mother’s love is irreplaceable and the son’s loss is truly tragic,” said Prakash Periah.
Tan Nancy, Dorothy Liao and Inderjit Kaur also thanked the K9 unit dogs - Denti and Frankie - for assisting in the SAR operation at Jalan Masjid India.
“A million thanks to all the heroes here and the fur friends for this difficult task,” said Liao
Frankie and Denti, who are both English Springer Spaniel dogs, captured the hearts of Malaysians after they were involved in the SAR operation at the Batang Kali landslide incident in December last year.
Several months later, the duo, who have served for seven years, were flown to Turkiye for 13 days to assist in a special SAR operation following an earthquake that killed about 50,000 in February this year.
The SAR mission was aborted on Saturday (Aug 31) after nine days of painstaking search for Vijayalaksmi who fell into an eight-metre deep sinkhole in Jalan Masjid India on Aug 23.
Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Federal Territories) Dr Zaliha Mustafa said the decision to abort the SAR was made after a thorough assessment by experts from the Fire and Rescue Department, the police, Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL), IWK and other agencies.
