KUALA LUMPUR: High-pressure jetting works are being conducted to clear debris at one of the manholes near the sinkhole on Jalan Masjid India in hopes of finding Vijayaletchumy here.
Dang Wangi police chief assistant commissioner Sulizmie Affendy Sulaiman said Indah Water Konsortium was conducting flushing operations at each manhole, while search efforts were also ongoing at its Pantai Dalam plant.
"The search activities also used pushrod and crawler mounted cameras to search the sewerage system for the victim.
"The crawler found that solid debris was blocking the pipes near the site of the sinkhole," he told reporters at the scene on Monday.
He said high-pressure jetting efforts were now being focused on the debris in the hopes of dislodging it.
He said the jets are capable of spraying water at a maximum pressure of 200bar (2,900 psi).
"Our hope is that once the debris are cleared, anything stuck behind it, including human remains will be revealed.
"The search has gone into its fourth day now, 81 hours to be exact (at the time of writing).
"As we have stated before and the prime minister has also stressed, the search and rescue operations will continue until the victim is found," he said.
Following poor weather conditions with rain throughout the day, the Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) has taken steps to place sandbags at the location of the incident to reduce the overflow of rainwater into the dig-site where the sinkhole occurred, he said.
"As of now, we have not found any leads in the search for the victim," he said.
Sulizmie Affendy said only local experts would be deployed in the operation as per discussions between the relevant agencies and Kuala Lumpur mayor.
Meanwhile, IWK chief executive officer Narendran Maniam said along with flushing works, his personnel were also instructed to monitor the sewer trap at the Pantai Dalam plant.
Vijayaletchumy disappeared after being swallowed by a sinkhole on Friday morning.
Video footage of the incident where the sinkhole suddenly emerged and swallowed her was revealed by the Fire and Rescue Department.
The 31-second closed-circuit television camera video clip shows the woman walking along the pedestrian path there behind two other people.
Just as she was about to reach the bench, the ground around her suddenly sank and she disappeared into the hole.
A man sitting on the bench was also seen almost swallowed by the sinkhole, but managed to pull himself up.