The search for an Indian tourist swallowed by a gaping sinkhole in the heart of Malaysia’s capital entered its fourth agonising day on Monday, as authorities insisted the tragic incident was an isolated occurrence beyond their control.

Vijaya Lakshmi Gali, a 48-year-old Indian woman, vanished without a trace on Friday morning when the pavement beneath her feet suddenly gave way, plunging her into an 8-metre-deep chasm in the bustling Masjid India district of Kuala Lumpur.

The horrific episode, captured on CCTV, has now morphed from a desperate rescue effort into what appears to be a grim recovery operation.

“It’s impossible to predict when and where a sinkhole will occur,” Deputy Prime Minister Fadillah Yusof, who also serves as the minister in charge of water, told reporters on Sunday, seeking to reassure a jittery public.

“This phenomenon doesn’t only happen in Malaysia, but also around the world, particularly in areas with limestone and specific geological conditions.”

But the revelation that the exact same spot had collapsed just last year before being hastily patched up sparked disbelief and outrage online, with some social media users accusing authorities of “negligence of duties”.

Charles Santiago, chairman of the National Water Services Commission, said the authorities needed to inspect and upgrade infrastructure “in old localities, such as Masjid India” to avoid more loss of life and livelihoods. “We need to ensure this incident doesn’t repeat,” he said.

Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has vowed that the hunt for Gali would not cease, with more than 100 searchers, including scuba diving units, scouring sewers filled with fast-flowing monsoon waters.
Yet with only the victim’s slippers found so far, hopes of finding her alive dimmed by the hour.

Online outrage

Malaysians expressed their outrage online about the hastily patched-over sinkhole.

“The danger wasn’t resolved in a full and satisfactory [way],” fumed one. Others directly blamed the authorities.

Kuala Lumpur mayor Maimunah Mohd Sharif sought to quell public anxiety, insisting on Sunday that the tragedy was an isolated incident and that the city “remains safe unless proven otherwise”. She announced the formation of a task force, including geological and public works experts, to investigate the matter.

The victim, originally from Andhra Pradesh, was on the last day of a two-month tour of Malaysia when disaster struck. She had been scheduled to fly home the following day.

Harrowing footage showed Gali’s son, who had flown to Malaysia from Thailand after the incident, desperately pleading with rescuers to save his mother on Friday evening by the side of the sinkhole.

But according to specialists, the powerful currents in the 1.5-metre-wide sewer lines beneath Kuala Lumpur could have swept the victim as far as 86km away within the first 24 hours.

“There is little point in continuing the search,” said G Parameswaran, president of the Malaysian Water and Wastewater Quality Safety Association, on Sunday – urging authorities to call off the operation and presume that the victim was dead.