Rescue teams in Malaysia searching for an Indian tourist who disappeared down a sinkhole say they are facing “impossible” conditions.
Vijaya Lakshmi Gali, 48, is from India’s Andhra Pradesh state and was visiting Malaysia ‘s capital Kuala Lumpur.
She was reportedly on her way to visit a nearby temple eight days ago, when she was swallowed up by a giant 26ft (8 metres) deep sinkhole on the street of Jalan Masjid India.
CCTV images posted to social media channels capture the dramatic moment she fell into the sinkhole.
Ms Gali can be seen walking along the street when suddenly the ground beneath her opens up and she disappears. A group of people sitting nearby rush to try and help her.
Around 110 rescuers have been working round the clock in a desperate attempt to locate the stricken tourist, but have so far come up empty-handed.
A pair of slippers are the only items they have found of Ms Gali during their week-long search.
Divers have been called in to help rescue efforts, but have found conditions underground extremely challenging.
Two of them attempted to enter the sinkhole via a sewer network at 04:00 local time on Friday (21:00 GMT Thursday).
However, they were confronted with strong water currents and hard debris, according to the Fire and Rescue Department.
The pair were forced to “lie flat” on their stomachs as the space was narrow, according to the department’s director-general Nor Hisham Mohammad.
“It was found to be impossible, extremely difficult, to break the solidified [debris] which are like concrete blocks,” he said yesterday.
“Even [when we tried] pulling at them with ropes using up to eight people, [it] was unsuccessful.”
Authorities said it was currently “too risky” to continue using the divers in the search efforts.
Other divers told local reporters that they have had to battle zero visibility, as well as heavy rain.
One admitted it was “very scary” going down into the hole, while another told The Straits Times that it was “pitch black in that pipe”.
“You don’t want to know what’s in there. It’s full of human waste and other garbage. We decontaminate immediately after each dive,” he added.