A taxi driver had to abandon his vehicle and scramble to safety after it was swallowed by a sinkhole on Monday 9 September 2019. The incident happened in the city of Guyuan in Ningxia Province, China, when a hole roughly 60 m² opened up beneath the taxi shortly after the driver dropped of a passenger. Nobody was hurt in the incident.
A sinkhole that opened up in the city of Guyuan in Ningxia Province, China, on Monday 9 September 2019. AsiaWire.
Sinkholes
are generally caused by water eroding soft limestone or unconsolidated
deposits from beneath, causing a hole that works its way upwards and
eventually opening spectacularly at the surface. Where there are
unconsolidated deposits at the surface they can infill from the sides,
apparently swallowing objects at the surface, including people, without
trace.
On this occasion the incident happened when heavy rain in the area caused a drainage pipe beneath the road to rupture, allowing water to wash away soft sediments beneath the road, leading to the collapse.
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