Six dead after huge sinkhole in China swallows bus and pedestrians
An enormous sinkhole has swallowed a bus and
pedestrians in China, killing six people and leaving 10 missing.
Footage on state media showed people at a bus stop
running from the collapsing road, as the bus – jutting into the air – sank.
Several people disappeared as the sinkhole spread,
including what appeared to be a child. Sixteen people were taken to hospital.
The incident, outside a hospital, also triggered an
explosion inside the hole, video showed.
Search and rescue work was under way and the cause
of the accident was under investigation, the state-run CCTV broadcaster said.
The incident occurred at 5.30pm on Monday in Xining,
the capital of Qinghai province, CCTV said.
Sinkholes are not uncommon in China and are often
blamed on construction works and the country’s rapid pace of development.
In 2016 at least three people fell into a huge
sinkhole in central Henan province, which swallowed a section of road and
passersby.
An initial investigation showed the collapse might
have been caused by water pipes under the road breaking up due to the rain.
In 2013 five people died when a 10-metre-wide
sinkhole opened up at the gates of an industrial estate in Shenzhen.
