Woman swallowed by sinkhole in Guangdong Province, China.

A woman was swallowed by a sinkhole in the city of Shenzhen in Guangdong Province, China, earlier this week. The unnamed woman had been shopping with her family and was returning with her goods laden on a bicycle, which she was pushing, when the ground collapsed beneath her. She was able to avoid sinking to far by standing on a metal pipe that crossed the hole, but was prevented from escaping by the bicycle, when fell on top of her, trapping her in position. Her family were able to rescue her with the help of passing motorists that they flagged down, by removing the bicycle and lowering a metal pole into the hole to help her climb out. The woman, who was soaked and covered in mud, was given fresh cloths by a delivery driver who had stopped at the scene, and taken to a local hospital where she was treated for injuries to her head and hands.

Sinkhole in Shenzhen, China, that swallowed a woman earlier this week. South China Morning Post.

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 an investigation found that the hole had been caused by a burst water pipe, which had washed away soft sediments beneath the ground surface, creating a void into which the pavement collapsed when the woman stepped onto it.

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Numerous deaths feared after landslide at waste tip in Shenzhen.

Many people are feared to have died following a landslide at construction waste tip in the city of Shenzhen in Guangdong Province, China, on Sunday 20 December 2015. The event is thought to have buried numerous workers at the site as well as nearby homes and businesses. Only two bodes have been recovered during the event, but at least seventy eight more are missing, and it is feared that the actual number burred may be higher due to the high number of migrants from the Chinese interior living and working in the area, who may not have been reported. A further sixteen people are being treated in local hospitals, three of whom are described as being in serious conditions.

The scene of the 20 December 2015 Shenzhen landslide. AP.

The waste site was opened at a former quarry in 2013, to accommodate waste from the city's numerous construction sites, however it had outgrown its original purpose with waste piled several tens of meters above the quarry at the time of the collapse, with many people in the area having expressed concern about the situation and an environmental consultancy, Zongxing Technology, having  published a report in January this year highlighting the site's instability, which resulted in operations being halted temporarily, though it is unclear what steps were taken to alleviate the problems before activity resumed. Running of the site was contracted to a company called Lüwei Property Management, however the actual management of the site was undertaken by a subcontractor, Yixianglong Investment, and Lüwei Property Management are claiming to have also raised concerns about conditions at the site.

The approximate location of the 20 December 2015 Shenzhen landslide. Google Maps.

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