Panic erupted in Shanghai, China, when a giant sinkhole opened up and began swallowing the street. The incident occurred at a newly built junction in the city. Reports say the ground suddenly gave way, forcing construction workers to flee as the roadway collapsed beneath them.
CCTV footage captured the frightening sequence as cracks first appeared across the surface of the tarmac at the intersection of Li’an Road and Qixin Road. Within moments, those cracks widened, and an entire pedestrian crossing vanished into a rapidly forming crater.
Large sections of road began breaking apart and falling into the void below. Several fence panels were pulled down as the ground beneath them disappeared. A massive slab of tarmac then split from the roadway and dropped into the growing sinkhole.
As the size of the sinkhole continues to increase, construction workers can be seen sprinting away from the danger zone. The sinkhole swallowed some machinery and equipment near the edge, as well as an entire mobile cabin. After a few seconds, all that was left behind was a cloud of dust where the mobile cabin had stood.
Despite the scale of the collapse, workers on site managed to escape before the situation worsened. Authorities later confirmed that no one was killed or injured. Reports noted that a major underground construction for a new metro line is currently taking place nearby, but officials have not confirmed if the construction contributed to the sinkhole.
However, many internet users have been speculating that the two are connected. They suggest that a leak at a nearby construction site may have triggered the sinkhole. Officials have not addressed this rumour.
Shanghai is not alone in facing such a sudden ground collapse. Another alarming incident occurred in Cairo, Egypt, where the earth gave way beneath a petrol station earlier this month. The incident, which left behind a 15-metre-deep crater, was also caught on CCTV footage.
In that video, a sinkhole gradually opened up in the street, causing people to become frantic as they ran to safety. During that incident, several people were injured, and at least two were inside the station when the ground collapsed.
