KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 28 — The presence of four individuals carrying yellow chrysanthemums drew the attention of those at the scene of the sinkhole incident at Jalan Masjid India, this afternoon.

They were seen arriving at the location at about 1.10pm, before performing religious rites for almost 10 minutes, believed to be an alternative to the ongoing search and rescue (SAR) efforts, to locate the Indian woman who went missing after falling into an eight-metre-deep hole on Friday.

When met by reporters, one of them, VT Vanija, introduced herself as a representative from Indian non-governmental organisations (NGOs) — Malaysia Hindu Sanggam and Hindu Darma Mamandram. She explained that they were called in to assist with the SAR efforts.

"Just now we sang Sivapuranam Thevaram’and Thiruvasanagam. According to Hindu belief, the flowers will be released into the river as a form of offering to the victim,” she told reporters at the scene.

Despite not having any family ties to the victim, Vanija explained that she and several others from the NGOs regularly conduct such ceremonies during disasters, similar to their efforts during the Covid-19 outbreak a few years ago.

Earlier, they distributed food packs to media practitioners and interacted with the public.

On Friday (August 23), Vijayaletchumy, 48, from Kuppam, Andhra Pradesh, India, went missing after falling into an eight-metre-deep hole, caused by a sudden ground collapse. The search and rescue operation to locate her is now in its sixth day. — Bernama