[WATCH] Massive Sinkhole in China Swallows 21 Cars

A massive sinkhole opened out of nowhere, swallowing at least 21 cars in China Wednesday evening, August 21.

The natural disaster was caught via a closed-circuit television (CCTV) camera monitoring the parking area for a shopping mall, situated near the Yangtze River in southwestern China's Sichuan province. Local news outlets reported that up to fifteen of these sunken vehicles were already recovered, although most were already wrecked. Fortunately, no one was reported to be hurt by the incident.

A Mix of Man-Made and Natural Causes

While the cause of the incident remains under investigation, eyewitnesses and local outlets report that current weather conditions in the province might be the cause of the sinkhole. Sichuan province has been experiencing torrential rainfalls over the past few days. Local authorities have raised their emergency response to their highest levels.

Sinkholes generally refer to massive cavities in the ground occurring when the underlying rock layer is eroded, usually by water. With the sublayer eroded, a gap or a chasm is formed, causing the surface level to collapse into the chasm.

According to the US Department of Environmental Protection, typical activities that can cause sinkholes include changes in water levels. Water level decline due to drought or groundwater pumping, as in wells and quarries, can contribute to the formation of sinkholes. Another possible cause is the imposition of heavy loads on the surface, such as construction equipment of building structures.

A sinkhole might be caused by one factor or a combination of different factors. More importantly, a sinkhole left open and is exposed to continuous water intake can still grow and even cause additional sinkholes to appear in the vicinity.

Sinkholes in China

Sinkholes are appearing in China at a regular pace, with reports of these giant chasms emerging from the start of the year. On January 13, a sinkhole measuring approximately 10 meters, or 32 feet, in diameter appeared near a hospital in the city of Xining in northwestern China's Qinghai province.

The void swallowed a bus filled with passengers and surrounding pedestrians, with the CCTV footage of the event showing people nearby trying to help the stranded passengers. Shortly after, a fiery explosion followed the bus' fall into the hole. Although the exact number of people inside the bus was not confirmed, at least six people were killed, and sixteen others were injured.

A few weeks ago, another massive sinkhole swallowed two pedestrians walking along the pavement in Chonqing, one of China's megacities located in its southwestern region. Another CCTV footage captured the moment when the victims fell into the chasm. They were later rescued by responding firefighters and sent to the hospital for treatment.

Authorities reported that the road where the sinkhole appeared was already closed for repairs. State media also pointed to the torrential rains experienced in the Chongqing municipality and its neighboring megacity Shanghai.

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