Sinkhole swallows man in his bedroom

Fri, Mar 1, 2013

A sinkhole opened under a 36-year-old man’s bedroom Thursday, swallowing him despite his brother’s attempts at rescue, authorities said.

Hillsborough County Fire Rescue officials told WFTS they presumed the victim, Jeff Bush, is dead.

Authorities said the area had become too unstable to continue a rescue and the focus would move to recovery, according to the Tampa Bay Times. A camera and microphone were lowered into the hole, but no signs of life were seen or heard.

Police on the scene about 15 miles east of Tampa said the sinkhole is so deep, the victim’s brother, Jeremy Bush, couldn’t reach the top of the hole and had to be pulled out.

“I didn’t see any part of him when I went in there,” he told WFTS. “All I saw was his bed. I told my father-in-law to grab a shovel so I could start digging. I started digging and started digging and the cop showed up and pulled me out of the hole and told me the floor was still falling in.”

The Times reported five adults, a child and two dogs were in the home when the sinkhole opened.

Officials declared the house condemned and all other occupants, as well as people living nearby, have been moved a safe distance away.

Because the house is considered unsafe, authorities were unable to contact the man as the sinkhole expanded.

CNN reported engineers using radar said the naturally occurring hole could be as deep as 50 feet and 100 feet wide.