KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 29 — A sinkhole emerged in the middle of a road in western Seoul on Thursday morning, swallowing an entire car and injuring two people, one in critical condition, fire authorities said.
According to a news report published in The Korea Herald, the incident happened at 11.26am when a vehicle carrying a driver and passenger overturned and crashed into the sinkhole.
The vehicle was headed towards Seongsan Bridge and was travelling on Seongsan-ro in Yeonhui-dong, Seodaemun-gu, in north-western Seoul.
The injured individuals, a woman in her 70s and a man in his 80s, sustained serious injuries and were immediately taken to a hospital.
The sinkhole, which left a gaping hole in the road, caused severe traffic congestion.
The sinkhole led to severe traffic congestion, and an investigation is underway to determine its cause.
Meanwhile a separate news report in Channel News Asia which quoted Korea JoongAng Daily said access to the sinkhole site has been restricted by first responders.
Over in Malaysia, the search for an Indian tourist who fell into an eight-metre deep sinkhole on Jalan Masjid India on Friday entered its seventh day today.
Amid intensified efforts to find 48-year-old Vijayaletchumy, hopes for a breakthrough emerged after the Fire and Rescue departments K9 units Denti and Frankie detected potential obstructions near the sinkhole.
Search and rescue (SAR) operation also encountered a new challenge as another land subsidence was detected yesterday.
The subsidence was discovered at 2.30am near a police post, just 50 metres from the sinkhole where Vijayaletchumy, had fallen into the hole.
As a result, Jalan Masjid India has been closed to all vehicles, and the public is prohibited from accessing the area, although pedestrians are still allowed to use unaffected parts of the road.
This morning, the site was filled with over 50 media personnel, while police patrol the area, which remains unusually quiet, with few pedestrians on the usually busy streets.
The Mineral and Geoscience Department had also deployed Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) to scan and mark drains along Jalan Masjid India, aiding in the search effort.
Deputy Director-General of Operations, Datuk Ahmad Izram Osman had earlier said that sewage water is being pumped out to allow divers from the Malaysian Fire and Rescue Department’s (JBPM) Water Rescue Team to enter the site.
The dive operation, involving eight divers, is set to begin later today, supported by 75 personnel managing machinery and logistics.
Amid public fears of more sinkholes appearing, Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Razarudin Husain today said that there is currently no need to declare the Jalan Masjid India area as an unsafe or disaster zone, adding that to declare an area unsafe, police must obtain special permission from the National Security Council (MKN).
He added that the search for the missing victim will continue until she is found.
