Sinkhole nearly ‘eats up’ vehicle

20/9/2007 The Star Story and Photos by R. SURENDRAN

Closer look: JKR technician Johari Ahmad (inside sinkhole) and Yusof (in tie) checking the sinkhole in Taman Sinar Mentari, Bedong, on Wednesday.

BEDONG: A sinkhole on a tarred road in Taman Sinar Mentari near here has caused near panic among the 200-odd households in the quiet four-year-old housing estate.

The hole, measuring 3m wide and 3m deep, nearly engulfed a Proton Saga parked at the roadside.

Resident Nor Baizurah Mohd Noor, 23, said she and her husband Che Khairul Che Yahaya, 23, heard a loud noise when they woke up at 5.15am on Monday to have their sahur meal before they start fasting.

“When we went out to check, we found the front portion of our car, which was parked on the roadside, in a slanting position.

“We thought nothing of it and went back to bed after sahur,” said Nor Baizurah.

When the couple woke up at about 7am and went outside, they found a big sinkhole in the road in front of their house with the two front wheels of their Proton Saga inside the hole.

Nor Baizurah said they managed to push the car out of the hole before lodging a report at the Bedong police station.

Public Works Department Kuala Muda/Sik district engineer Yusof Hassan, who visited the site yesterday morning, said the developer’s consultant engineers would investigate the cause of the sinkhole and forward their findings to the department and the Sungai Petani Municipal Council for the necessary action to be taken.