Plucky taxi driver escapes disaster as sinkhole swallows car in China (PHOTO, VIDEO)
by مخبر
Plucky taxi driver escapes disaster as sinkhole swallows car in China (PHOTO, VIDEO)
A taxi driver was forced to flee a huge 60-square-meter sinkhole after it devoured his vehicle in the middle of a busy street in Guyuan city, northwestern China.
Footage filmed by bystanders show the aftermath of the gaping crater on Monday. The driver of the taxi, named only as Guo, can be seen making a mad dash to escape impending doom after noticing the ground beginning to sink beneath him.
Guo told local media that he had just dropped off a passenger before the road collapsed. Despite having some trouble escaping his sinking vehicle, the 33-year-old fortunately got to safety without injury.
“After my passenger got out, I drove forwards, then my car suddenly began sinking into the ground. I was shocked and immediately tried to open my door to get out,” he said. “But my car became misshapen in the sinkhole, so I had to kick it open and ran out.”
The sinkhole was likely caused by a recent torrential downpour that burst a nearby drain pipe and flooded the area.
On Wednesday, a similar near-disaster occurred in the northern province of Lvliang as a road collapsed, causing two cars to fall into the 50-meter-long (164ft) and 10-meter-wide hole. Two people were evacuated from the vehicles and there were no injuries, according to reports.
