Tourist disappears into 26ft sinkhole while walking down street

This is the horrifying moment a tourist plunged nearly 30ft down a sinkhole in Malaysia.

The 48-year-old Indian woman has not been seen since the pavement opened up and swallowed her as she walked through the Dang Wangi area of Kuala Lumpur on Friday.

Rescuers cordoned off the collapsed section and used an excavator to clear debris but there was no sign of her.

Police now believe she may have been swept away by an underground water current.

Local police chief Sulizmie Affendy Sulaiman declined to comment when asked about the possible condition of the woman, or the cause of the incident.

Rusdi Mohamad Isa, head of the Kuala Lumpur police, said there was a strong water flow underground and that the woman may have been swept away.

He told the national Bernama news agency the search required careful planning because it involves public infrastructure.

Shutting off pipes or drains, for example, could cause flooding in the area, he said, adding: ‘We can’t act recklessly.’

Rusdi said a soil slip was reported last year in the same location where the sinkhole appeared but that it was fixed.

He said businesses in the area have been advised to close temporarily for safety reasons.

The woman had come to Malaysia with her husband and several friends about two months ago for a vacation and they were due to return home Saturday, he said.

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