2024-09-06 02:23:31
Kuala Lumpur: The family of the Indian woman who went missing after falling into a sinkhole in Malaysia’s capital Kuala Lumpur has presumed her dead. The family visited the accident spot and performed the last rites and prayed for her soul’s peace. 48-year-old Vijayalakshmi, a resident of Andhra Pradesh, had gone to Malaysia for a holiday last month. On August 23, she fell into a sinkhole in Kuala Lumpur’s Jalan Masjid India area. A search operation was carried out for nine days but her body could not be found. After the Malaysian agencies were unable to find her body, the family also presumed her dead.
According to a report by Astro Avani, Vijayalakshmi’s husband, son and sister performed her last rites near a 26 feet deep sinkhole in Kuala Lumpur. On August 31, local authorities decided to call off the search operation after Vijayalakshmi’s body could not be found. The next day, Vijayalakshmi’s family reached the sinkhole site and performed rituals according to Hinduism. The family performed puja by lighting oil lamps and collected some soil. They considered this soil as Vijayalakshmi’s ashes and brought it to India in a plastic bag. The family arrived in India on the evening of September 1.
Malaysia’s PM also took cognizance of the incident
After Vijayalakshmi fell into the sinkhole, the Malaysian government made a lot of efforts to find her. Search dogs and scuba units were also deployed. Despite this, the rescue team could not succeed in locating Vijayalakshmi’s body. On August 31, Jalilha Mustafa, Minister of the Federal Territories Department of the Malaysian Prime Minister, announced that the search and rescue operation was being ended after nine days of efforts.
The decision to stop the search operation for the woman’s body was taken due to the safety concerns of the rescue team and the public and the surrounding area. Minister Jaliha said that the government is considering giving compensation to the victim’s family. This will be discussed in the cabinet meeting on September 4. The Malaysian government says that this will also be discussed with the victim’s family.