Terrifying Moment as People Cross the Street... Giant Sinkhole at Subway Construction Site Triggers Mass Evacuation in China

30-Meter-Wide Giant Sinkhole Opens in Shanghai

A large sinkhole opened up at a subway construction site in Shanghai, China. X

A large sinkhole opened up near a subway construction site in Shanghai, China, forcing nearby residents to evacuate in an emergency.

According to foreign media including the Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post (SCMP) on the 13th (local time), on the morning of the previous day part of a road around a subway construction site near Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport subsided into the ground due to ground settlement caused by a groundwater leak.

Video footage of the scene shows cracked asphalt gradually caving in, with construction materials and temporary container buildings being sucked into the ground. At first, some pedestrians did not realize how serious the situation was, but as the sinkhole rapidly expanded, people nearby quickly evacuated.

The accident damaged the road and related infrastructure, but fortunately no casualties were reported. Construction workers who had been working at the site also evacuated quickly, and there were no injuries.

Local authorities estimated that the sinkhole was about 30 meters in diameter and more than 10 meters deep. It was reported that on the day before the accident, a report of groundwater leakage had been filed in the area, and a temporary closure order had already been issued around the construction site.

An official investigation found that the groundwater pipeline leak weakened the ground, which led to large-scale subsidence and the formation of the sinkhole. Some sections of the roads near the site are currently closed, and access restrictions have been imposed on surrounding buildings and hospitals. Emergency repair work to fill the ground is underway at the site, and local authorities are conducting additional investigations to determine the exact cause of the accident.

This is not the first time a sinkhole accident has occurred in China. In August 2020, a massive sinkhole opened in Yibin, Sichuan Province, swallowing 21 vehicles at once. Not only vehicles but also trees and streetlights were swept in, but fortunately there were no casualties. The incident was reported to have occurred after a series of floods that had swept across China at the time.

Meanwhile, it is known that there are more than 300 giant sinkholes around the world with both depth and diameter exceeding 100 meters, and about two-thirds of them are believed to be concentrated in China.