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Huge sinkhole opens up on a New York street and swallows up a car

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Just another day in 2020 NYC: Huge sinkhole opens up on a Queens street and swallows a SUV

  • Orange Toyota RAV4 was discovered nose-down at the side of the curb at 6am
  • New York City Fire Department attended to the scene after reports of trauma 
  • New York City Council member Robert Holden shared pictures of the scene

By Emily Webber For Mailonline

Published: | Updated:

A giant sinkhole swallowed an unoccupied orange SUV on a New York street, sending the car plummeting into the ground. 

The orange Toyota RAV4 was discovered nose-down at the side of the road at around 6am on 70th Street near 52nd Avenue in Maspeth, Queens, on Thursday.  

New York City Council member Robert Holden shared the shocking scene taken on Thanksgiving to Twitter.  

The orange Toyota RAV4 was discovered nose-down at the side of the curb at around 6am on 70th Street near 52nd Avenue in Maspeth, Queens, on Thursday

The New York City Fire Department attended to the scene after reports of trauma but the SUV was found unoccupied, according to the New York Post 

Mr Holden shared three angles of the SUV which showed the bonnet of the car completely submerged below the ground as people walked past in the rain. 

The New York City Fire Department attended the scene after reports of trauma but the SUV was found unoccupied, according to the New York Post. 

He penned: ‘Community Advisory: I have been informed of an unoccupied vehicle that fell into a large sinkhole in #Maspeth. 

New York City Council member Robert Holden shared the shocking scene taken on Thanksgiving to Twitter

New York City Council member Robert Holden shared the shocking scene taken on Thanksgiving to Twitter

Mr Holden shared three angles of the SUV which showed the bonnet of the car completely submerged below the ground as people walked past in the rain

‘The @NYPDnews and @FDNY are on scene for site safety, and the NYPD is enforcing the following Street closures: 70th Street between 52nd Avenue and 53rd Avenue 52nd Drive between 69th St and 70th Street.’ 

He ended: ‘@NYCWater and @natioalgridus are on scene, and are conducting an evaluation of their infrastructures. 

‘We will put out more updates as they come. If you see any sinkholes, please report to @nyc311 and my office to be addressed.’ 

WHAT ARE SINKHOLES?

A sinkhole is a hole in the ground created by erosion and the drainage of water. 

They can range in size from a few feet in diameter to the size capable of swallowing entire buildings.

They are a natural phenomenon but the process is often amplified by human processes and interference.   

There are two basic types of sinkhole which are separated by how they form. 

Slow developing ones are known as a cover-subsidence sinkhole and those that appear suddenly are called a cover-collapse sinkhole.

The sudden holes which seize headlines are the latter and can cause devastation and even death. 

Often, it involves soluble rock, such as limestone, becoming moist and eroding rapidly. 

This then leads to a swift loss of land and a sinkhole emerges.  

source: dailymail.co.uk