00:01A large sinkhole has opened up on a busy street in Wangsa Maju, Kuala Lumpur,
00:06and city authorities now believe underground utility works may be to blame.
00:10The incident occurred on Jalan Wangsa Delima Empat.
00:13The sinkhole measures roughly 4 meters in length, width and depth,
00:17large enough to raise serious safety concerns for the surrounding area.
00:21The road has since been closed off,
00:22and authorities say it will remain shut for up to two weeks while repair works are carried out.
00:27According to the Kuala Lumpur City Hall,
00:30or DBKL,
00:31initial inspections point to the collapse of a sump wall,
00:34a water retention structure,
00:35inside the area's main 1.5 meter drainage system.
00:39Investigators believe that underground utility works
00:41using a method called Horizontal Directional Drilling,
00:44or HDD,
00:45may have struck the structure without leaving any visible signs on the surface.
00:49Over time, this caused cracks in the wall,
00:52allowing drainage water to seep directly into the surrounding soil,
00:55and eventually, the ground gave way.
01:01KL Mayor Datuk Serifadlun Mak Ujud confirmed at a press conference on Tuesday
01:06that investigations are still ongoing to pinpoint the exact cause.
01:11Separately, a smaller sinkhole was also detected on the same day
01:14near a bank along the pedestrian walkway on Jalan Thun Perak in the city centre.
01:19The mayor said this one was minor,
01:21about a foot deep,
01:22and was not related to any utility issues.
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