Authorities close Kuala Lumpur road after another sinkhole opens up

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian authorities on Wednesday (Aug 28) closed off Jalan Masjid India, the road where a sinkhole opened up days ago, swallowing a 48-year-old female Indian tourist who has yet to be found.
Pedestrians and traffic are not allowed on the 400m stretch of road, but footpaths remain open. Businesses there are continuing to operate but people are generally staying away from the area.
This comes as another sinkhole opened up in what is believed to be the early hours of Wednesday following a heavy downpour. The latest sinkhole is situated about 50m from the one that the woman fell into, Malaysian media reported. 
The latest sinkhole has been cordoned off by the Kuala Lumpur city council. No casualties have been reported.
The sinkhole, located in front of the Masjid India community police station, is at the same spot where a cave-in occurred last month. According to workers CNA spoke to, the road was repaired and that section was reopened to traffic on Jul 29.
This comes amid the search for the missing victim, identified as Ms Vijayaletchumy, entered its sixth day on Wednesday, with rescuers doing more flushing of the surrounding manholes and searching the Pantai Dalam treatment plant 7km away, where the sewer ends.
The tourist disappeared after falling into the sinkhole in front of Malayan Mansion while walking to a nearby temple.
She was reportedly on a two-month holiday in Malaysia with her family and was due to return home soon.
Since the incident, claims from 2015 have resurfaced on social media that there was potential for a “giant sinkhole” to emerge in the Malaysian capital at any time. 
But on Sunday, Kuala Lumpur mayor Maimunah Mohd Sharif said the city “remains safe unless proven otherwise by studies”.
The city has been developed for a long time and claims that it was unsafe for development must be backed up by strong evidence, she said, as reported by Bernama.
In response, a task force that includes the Department of Minerals and Geosciences, Kuala Lumpur City Hall, the Royal Malaysia Police and the Public Works Department has been set up to study the safety of development in the capital, she said.
“Based on the current situation, Kuala Lumpur remains safe unless proven otherwise by studies,” Ms Maimunah said.
Separately, another cave-in occurred on Tuesday in the Kuala Lumpur suburb of Kampung Kerinchi, along Jalan Pantai Permai, due to a collapsed drain. No casualties or injuries were reported in that incident.