Jordan Karlesson
A man died in Israel on Thursday in an increasingly common, albeit terrifying, instance of surface land collapsing into cavities. A huge sinkhole opened in a swimming pool and engulfed the man, The Times of Israel reported.
Videos by Rare
Rescue teams reportedly spent four hours and used Go-Pro cameras during their underground excavation attempt in Karmei Yosef. They also employed a helicopter as part of their response.
Potential for the sinkhole to branch out into tunnels stymied the search effort, according to The Times of Israel.
A second man reportedly escaped from the sinkhole with only slight injuries. About 50 people witnessed the incident or attended the pool party.
One of the party attendees spoke to Channel 12, the most-watched TV network in Israel.
“The water level suddenly started receding and a hole opened up,” the person said. “[It created] a vortex that swept two people inside.”
Thursday’s horrific event followed a series of other sinkhole-related incidents over the years.
Previous Sinkhole Incidents
Two months ago, Cave explorers in China discovered a 630-foot deep sinkhole with a stunning ancient forest range that includes 130-foot tall trees. The explorers came across the sinkhole near Ping’e village in Leye County of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.
It measures 1,000 feet in length and 490 feet in width, according to the Xinhua news agency. The experts hiked for several hours before reaching the base of the sinkhole and found three cave entrances.
Also, two years ago, a sinkhole opened up on a sidewalk in the Bronx borough of New York City, causing one man to plummet into the ground and on top of a pile of rats.
According to the New York Daily News, the sidewalk crumbled beneath the feet of 33-year-old NYC resident Leonard Shoulders. Shoulders tried to hang on but fell 15 feet through the Bronx sidewalk sinkhole and, basically, onto a pile of sewer rats.
