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Footage Captures Moment Sinkhole Swallows Tourist. Woman Still Missing

Desert Mirage Sinkhole

Lummi/Public/Pablo Stanley

Ilan Hulkower Contributor
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Malaysian rescue authorities are still searching for a 48-year-old Indian tourist who disappeared around 26 feet down a sinkhole that formed Friday, the New York Post reported.

The tourist, Vijaya Lakshmi, was walking to a nearby temple Friday in Malaysia’s capital city of Kuala Lumpur when she was suddenly swallowed by the earth, the outlet reported, citing local media.

Footage of the moment when the female tourist was abruptly swallowed up by the earth shows her casually strolling down a street. The earth suddenly opens up and she falls through the expanding sinkhole. A bystander seated near the square-shaped sinkhole appears to nearly suffer the same fate as the woman. (RELATED: Video Shows Massive 100-Foot-Wide Sinkhole Swallowing Soccer Field)

Lakshmi arrived with her husband and friends to Malaysia two months ago for vacation, authorities stated, the New York Post reported. She was slated to return back to India on Sunday, the outlet noted.

Search crews have only managed to find the tourist’s shoes, the New York Post reported. The crews are reportedly employing radars capable of penetrating underground in their search. The rescue teams are also exploring the sewage system for the tourist and are employing water jets to remove refuse, according to the outlet.

A second sinkhole — some 50 meters away from the one the woman fell into  — was discovered by authorities, Malay Mail reported. Authorities have reportedly cordoned off the area and shut down vehicles. The second sinkhole is thought to have formed due to heavy rains and storms on Tuesday night, the outlet reported.