Police have revealed a disturbing new theory about what happened to the tourist who disappeared after being swallowed by a 26ft sinkhole.
Vijaya Lakshmi Gali, 48, went missing in a sinkhole in Malaysia’s capital Kuala Lumpur last week on August 23 after a pavement collapsed.
The Indian woman remains missing as the search enters its seventh day, with rescue teams clearing manholes in the area and using high-powered jets to remove debris blocking access to sewers. First publication information.
Meanwhile, a second sinkhole has opened up about 50 metres from the first, raising fears about the safety of the area.
But Malaysian police said they believe the woman was likely swept away by an underground water current.
Chilling footage shows Vijaya Lakshmi walking down the sidewalk as normal
Suddenly, the ground opens up and she falls, while others narrowly avoid a similar fate.
She has been missing for five days after being swallowed by the sinkhole.
A look at a sinkhole that opened up in the same area where an Indian woman fell into an eight-metre-deep sinkhole.
A man crosses a closed road after another deep sinkhole appeared a week after a woman fell into a sinkhole when a sidewalk collapsed in Kuala Lumpur. Thursday, August 29
Police stand guard on a closed road after the latest sinkhole opened in the area
Rescuers say there are no other signs of the woman who fell through the hole.
Datuk G Parameswaran, chairman of the Malaysian Water and Wastewater Quality Safety Association, told the Straits Times: ‘The wastewater is also very hard and the stream has a minimum flow velocity of one metre per second.
‘In theory, it could have travelled up to 86.4 kilometres in 24 hours.’
Chilling footage shows the moment the 48-year-old woman walks down the pavement before suddenly disappearing.
An initial search by Malaysian rescue teams found Ms Lakshmi’s shoes but no other sign of her. Telegraph report.
CCTV footage shows other people sitting on a nearby bench barely managing to collide with the woman.
Malaysian Fire and Rescue Department officials inspect the site where a woman fell into an eight-metre-deep sinkhole
Search and rescue operations continue in Malaysia’s capital.
An initial search by Malaysian rescue teams found Ms Lakshmi’s shoes
Rescue efforts continue overnight as fire crews inspect the sinkhole.
Crowds gather as wait drags on for missing Malaysian woman
The shopping area is known for its goldsmiths and jewelers and attracts many tourists.
Lakshmi and her family are said to have been in Malaysia for about two months and were scheduled to fly home on Sunday.
Authorities have since provided counselling to the woman’s relatives, including her husband and son.
The shopping area, known for its goldsmiths and jewellers, is about a 10-minute drive from the city’s Petronas Twin Towers.