Woman buried alive in 26-foot sinkhole after sidewalk collapsed in Malaysia

A woman was buried alive after a sidewalk gave way and she fell into a sinkhole in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia .

The Indian tourist fell into the 26-foot sinkhole after the pavement suddenly collapsed beneath her in Kuala Lumpur's Dang Wangi district on Friday. Sulizmie Affendy Sulaiman, the local police said the 48-year-old woman was swallowed by an ominous 26-foot-deep sinkhole that opened unexpectedly under her feet.

Emergency teams swiftly responded by cordoning off the area and deploying heavy machinery to sift through the rubble, but they found no trace of the missing woman.

• Missing Iowa store worker found mummified behind freezer 10 years later after shoppers 'smelt death'
• Doctors pull 26-inch eel out of man’s stomach after sea creature BIT its way out

Kuala Lumpur police chief Rusdi Mohamad Isa said there is a strong subsurface water current beneath the sidewalk and the woman could have been swept away by its force.

Rusdi said search and rescue efforts will not disrupt essential public works. He added: "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 arrived in Malaysia for a vacation with her husband and a group of friends about two months ago. They were scheduled to return home on Saturday.