At least six people have been killed while 16 have been injured after a massive sinkhole swallowed a public bus picking up passengers in China.
A massive sinkhole suddenly opened up underneath a public bus after it halted at a stop in the city of Xining in the Qinghai province of China on Monday afternoon. Surveillance footage revealed passengers boarding the bus when the sinkhole appeared and swallowed the front part of the vehicle.
The hole also swallowed a lamp post and people waiting in line. The video also showed a young man who barely escaped picking up a baby from the edge of the sinkhole and taking it to safety.
The young man returned with several others to help a woman hanging on the edge but a second collapse occurred and they were all plunged into the sinkhole.
According to a news conference held by the Xining municipal government on Tuesday morning, search and rescue efforts remain ongoing. Rescuers have discovered six bodies and 16 other people are currently being treated in the hospital.
Retired armed police officer Sun Wanhong, who happened to pass by the incident and tried to help the woman out of the sinkhole, said: "I heard someone shouting 'Help! Help!' and ran over. I saw a person hanging on the edge, so I reached out my hand to grab her. As soon as I reached her, (the road) collapsed again and there was nothing at the bottom, and several people who were helping out with me fell through."
He mentioned: "There was water running above, and an explosion took off due to the electricity cable. The sound was huge ... a water pipe broke, and water poured in."
While authorities are still trying to figure out the cause of the road collapse, it has drawn outrage from people online, who are also questioning why sinkholes keep appearing in Chinese cities.
In December, three people on two vehicles feel into a sinkhole in Guangzhou while a road collapsed in Xiamen, trapping at least two vehicles.
