Corroded sewer pipe, soil instability caused KL sinkhole tragedy
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Ms Vijayalaksmi's body was never found despite frantic search operations lasting nine days by dozens of municipal and federal workers.
PHOTO: THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK
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A corroded sewer pipe and soil instability have been found to be the main factors that contributed to the sinkhole in Kuala Lumpur that a tourist fell into in August 2024.
The Indian tourist’s body was never found despite frantic search operations
A special task force set up to look into the incident has found that the sinkhole was not caused by the presence of limestone layer beneath the ground, as initially speculated by the public, said Datuk Seri Dr Zaliha Mustafa, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Federal Territories). fell into an 8m-deep sinkhole
“The site of the incident lies on the Kenny Hills Formation and is underlain by schist rock, while the limestone layer is only found at depths of between 60m and 70m. Therefore, the incident cannot be directly attributed to limestone,” she told Parliament on Oct 23.
“The task force concluded that the failure of the sewer pipe structure, which had corroded due to chemical reactions, and soil instability (were) among the main factors that led to the formation of a cavity beneath the pedestrian walkway, ultimately causing the sinkhole.”
In the Aug 23, 2024, incident, Ms Vijayalaksmi, 48, from Kuppam, Andhra Pradesh state,
National news agency Bernama quoted Dr Zaliha as saying the full investigation report had been presented to the Cabinet on Aug 20, while a special public report will be released by the Kuala Lumpur city hall (DBKL) by the end of 2025.
She said DBKL is conducting geotechnical studies on major roads within Kuala Lumpur’s Golden Triangle area to determine soil profiles and stability.
“Preliminary findings indicate that no areas have been identified as high-risk for sinkhole occurrence,” she added.
