Now that Malaysians are still celebrating Chinese New Year, lion dance troupes have been busily travelling from place to place to perform in conjunction with the festive occasion.
Unfortunately for this group of lion dance performers in Sabah, their performance went awry after the ground beneath them gave way, causing them to plunge into a sinkhole.
Lion dance performers fall into 1m-deep sinkhole
According to a report by NST, the incident took place at shop corridor on Jalan Bunga in Tamparuli, Sabah yesterday (Feb 5) at 11am.
Three lion dance performers were performing when the ground suddenly gave way, causing them to fall into the hole which measured one-metre-deep. Fortunately, none of them were hurt and were rescued.
Resident Rayner Ebi said the crowd were stunned when they witnessed the sinkhole appearing and essentially ‘swallowing’ the lion performers whole.
This incident is a clear reminder of the importance of immediate maintenance of basic infrastructure in the town by the local authorities.”
Rayner, who is also an officer at the Tuaran member of parliament’s service centre, rushed to the scene when he was notified of the matter.
He added the Tuaran District Council had been alerted of issues concerning the shop corridor floor before the incident happened.
“However, accidents are unpredictable, and unfortunately, the collapse happened right during the lion dance performance,
“Thus, I urge the local authorities, especially the Tuaran District Council, to take immediate action to ensure the safety of pedestrians and I advise pedestrians to be cautious when passing through the affected area,” he said.
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