In light of the Masjid India sinkhole incident which saw Indian national Vijaya Lakshmi plunge 8m down, the Merdeka Eve celebration slated to be held tomorrow (Aug 30) has been cancelled.
This announcement was made by the Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) on its Facebook page yesterday (Aug 28).
DBKL: Event cancelled out of respect for victims
In the post’s caption, DBKL wrote that the  ‘Sambutan Ambang Merdeka 2024’ celebration scheduled to be held at Dataran Merdeka at 8.30pm has officially been called off.
The cancellation was done out of respect for the victims of several incidents that have occurred in the city of Kuala Lumpur recently.
While DBKL didn’t specify the incidents that led to the event’s cancellation, it’s widely believed that they’re referring to the Masjid India sinkhole incident.
Sinkholes popping up across KL
On Aug 23, Vijaya was caught on camera falling into a sinkhole when the ground underneath her suddenly gave way.
Unfortunately, she has yet to be found as authorities continue to work around the clock to search for any signs of her location.
Not long after, two other sinkholes were spotted in KL, with one caused by a collapsed drain in Kampung Kerinchi and the other just located 50m away from the Masjid India sinkhole.
Read more about it here:
