Sinkhole At Bus Stop In China Swallows 5 People

Five pedestrians in a Chinese provincial capital were swallowed by a sinkhole on Saturday when a stretch of pavement suddenly crumbled beneath them.

China’s Xinhua news tweeted video showing the gaping sinkhole as it opened near a bus stop in Harbin, in the northeast Heilongjiang Province. The footage was recorded by surveillance cameras at a nearby noodle shop, according to Sky News. The sinkhole gave way to an approximately 100-square-foot opening.

Three people fell straight into the hole, while a woman clung to pipes just underneath the sidewalk. Another person standing on the edge fell sideways into the hole.

Passers-by pulled the victims from the hole, which was about 10 feet deep, according to Heilongjiang Network Broadcasting Television. Four received minor injuries to their feet, legs, arms and shoulders. The sinkhole also swallowed the bus sign, the station said.

It was not immediately clear what caused the sidewalk to collapse.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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