Rescuers slept only 2 hours daily in round-the-clock op

Team 'dejected' after mission had to be aborted, with woman still missing

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They slept barely two hours a day, working through day and night to search for a stranger who had fallen into a sinkhole.

When the Malaysian search and rescue (SAR) mission had to be aborted on Aug 31 after nine days of painstaking efforts, the 80 men and women involved in the search for 48-year-old Indian national Vijayalaksmi felt dejected for failing to find her.

She fell 8m when the sinkhole suddenly appeared in Jalan Masjid India in Kuala Lumpur on Aug 23, in a case that made headlines around the world.

"They (the rescuers) were disheartened," said Kuala Lumpur Fire and Rescue Department deputy director Rozihan Anwar Mamat.

"They had been prepared to descend into the sinkhole again to look for the woman although they were exhausted. We were hopeful of finding her. However, that did not happen."

In an interview with The Star, Mr Rozihan said his team was aware the incident had made global news and that "the world was watching our every move".

"We put in all our effort and drew up strategies to look for the woman," said Mr Rozihan, who headed the SAR mission as the forward commander of operations.

His team included specialist divers who ventured deep into the sewer tunnels.