Over a year after a female tourist from India was swallowed by a sinkhole, a small portion of the road was once more spotted to have collapsed in Kuala Lumpur (KL) near Masjid India, sparking fears of a new sinkhole.
According to a statement by the Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL), the collapse was discovered along Jalan Bonus on Monday (10 Nov) at around 8.39am.
Source: China Press
Teams from the DBKL, Air Selangor, Indah Water Konsortium (IWK), and the Dang Wangi District Police were sent immediately to the site to conduct investigations.
The road was also temporarily closed to all vehicles for safety reasons, The Star reported.
The new road collapse comes just 14 months after a 48-year-old tourist from India fell into an 8m-deep sinkhole while walking on Jalan Masjid India.
Despite carrying out multiple rescue techniques over nine days, authorities were unable to locate and recover her body.
Source: Malaysia Sin Chew Daily on Facebook
On Tuesday (11 Nov), Kuala Lumpur mayor Datuk Seri Maimunah Mohd Sharif moved swiftly to calm public worries.
She said that based on initial findings, the current incident was only a case of ground settlement.
“When I went to the site at 2pm, we opened up the tiles around the area to see if there were any leaking pipes, and thankfully, there were none,” the mayor told The Star.
Source: The Star
While they have yet to find out the cause of the ground settlement, Ms Maimunah assured the public that there is no need to panic as it was “not a sinkhole”.
She also said that the DBKL had deployed a geotechnical consultant to monitor the site.
The fresh collapse emerged just two weeks after the government finally disclosed why the Aug 2024 sinkhole happened.
On 24 Oct, Datuk Seri Dr Zaliha Mustafa revealed that the sinkhole was caused by a corroded sewer pipe structure, which had been worsened by soil instability.
Source: DBKL
Initial suspicions blamed limestone bedrock, but investigations revealed the site sits on schist rock, with limestone only appearing 60-70m below ground.
Dr Zaliha said a task force presented findings to the cabinet in August, and DBKL has promised a public report by year’s end.
To address public concern, the DBKL has begun geotechnical studies along key routes in KL’s Golden Triangle to determine soil profiles and stability.
So far, no locations are currently classified as high-risk.
Also read: Woman falls into 8m-deep sinkhole in KL & gets trapped underground, rescue underway
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Featured image adapted from China Press and The Star.