Drivers and passengers have lucky escape after hole swallows cars in southeast China

  • Sinkhole suddenly opened up near subway station in city of Xiamen but no one is killed or injured
  • Taxi driver whose vehicle was swallowed up says he and his passenger were able to pull themselves free unaided
The hole opened up at a site in Xiamen. Photo: Weibo
The hole opened up at a site in Xiamen. Photo: Weibo

Two cars have been swallowed by a hole that opened up in the ground near a subway station in southeast China.

It is the latest of a string of ground collapses involving subway projects in mainland cities this year.

The 500 square metre hole opened up just before 10pm on Thursday near Lucuo station in Xiamen, a city in Fujian province.

The city’s subway operator said no one had died or been injured in the accident and the people in the two cars had been able to get out on their own.

The accident also caused water pipes to burst, flooding the station.
No injuries were reported after the incident. Photo: Weibo
No injuries were reported after the incident. Photo: Weibo
The road and station were temporarily closed after the accident, but normal services resumed on Friday morning.

One of the cars swallowed was a taxi, and the driver told Beijing News he had been driving along the road when he suddenly found the vehicle falling into the hole.

The man, surnamed Chang, dragged his passenger free and they were able to climb out of the pit unaided. He said the car had not been seriously damaged.

Three people are still missing after a similar accident in the southern city of Guangzhou earlier this month that swallowed a truck and electric bike.

Five workers were also killed in the eastern port city of Qingdao in May in an accident at a subway construction site.

Source: SCMP

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