Ten meters deep: a huge hole in the ground in Rome swallows two cars

Shortly after midnight, the ground suddenly opened up in a residential area of ​​Rome: a huge hole in the ground tore through a street southeast of the Italian capital and swallowed two parked cars.

The hole, about ten meters deep and about ten meters in diameter, opened early Thursday morning around 1 a.m., Italian media reported, citing local Romanian police. Pictures and videos of the massive hole spread on social media.

There were initially no reports of injuries. According to preliminary findings by emergency services, there were no people on the street during the incident. Local police and firefighters were on the scene.

That night, the police closed the street and secured the affected area in the Cuadraro area. As can be seen from the photos, there were other cars next to the hole and they had to be removed.

Such gaps open again and again in major Italian cities. At the end of last February, a hole in the city of Naples, southern Italy, swallowed several cars in a crowded neighborhood.

In Rome, too, the subway never stops. In many places it is partially hollow. The reason for this, among other things, is the age of the Italian capital, where excavation and underground construction took place over many years. But occasional heavy rains also ensure that the ground is literally washed away.

SDA