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| A giant sinkhole caused by the rains of tropical storm Agatha is seen in Guatemala City in June 2010. |
A 36-year-old man disappeared last night when a sinkhole opened
up under his bedroom in the U.S. State of Florida, swallowing him as his brother tried to
rescue him.
Right after the ground started to give way in his home in Brandon, his brother frantically tried to keep him from sinking into the hole, a local emergency official said.
The first deputy on the scene pulled the victim’s brother from the edge of the growing chasm, said Jessica Damico, a spokeswoman for the Hillsborough County Fire Rescue.
Authorities have been unable to contact the man as the sinkhole expanded. The house was deemed unsafe for rescuers, Damico said.
Listening
devices and cameras have been placed inside the hole but so far there
has been no contact with the victim. Crews report they can hear sounds
of continuous collapse. The home could completely collapse at any time. -
See more at:
http://www.wptv.com/dpp/news/state/brandon-sinkhole-36-year-old-man-florida-man-swallowed-by-sinkhole-that-opened-under-his-bedroom#sthash.6IViR8W0.dpuf
Listening devices and cameras have been placed inside the hole but so far there has been no contact with the victim. Crews report they can hear sounds of continuous collapse. The home could completely collapse at any time. On Friday morning, the hole was about 100 feet wide and still growing, authorities said. Area homes have been evacuated.A sinkhole is an area of ground that has no natural external surface drainage--when it rains, all of the water stays inside the sinkhole and typically drains into the subsurface. Sinkholes can vary from a few feet to hundreds of acres and from less than 1 to more than 100 feet deep. Some are shaped like shallow bowls or saucers whereas others have vertical walls; some hold water and form natural ponds. Typically, sinkholes form so slowly that little change is seen in one's life- time, but they can form suddenly when a collapse occurs. Such a collapse can have a dramatic effect if it occurs in an urban setting.
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| The scene of the latest sinkhole incident in Florida, USA. |
Credit - CNN
