VIDEO. Their car flips on its side and suddenly falls into a 2.5-meter chasm: an elderly couple injured

Une enquête a été ouverte pour déterminer la cause du gouffre. Capture d'écran X

Photos were released showing the SUV flipping onto its side in a pothole that opened up on a Seoul road, causing the vehicle to “roll over and crash into the sinkhole”.

An elderly couple was rushed to hospital after their car fell into a sinkhole in Seoul, South Korea on Thursday, Aug. 29, 2024, rescue workers reported.

Traffic jams

The 76-year-old woman suffered a cardiac arrest and was given cardiopulmonary resuscitation. Her pulse later returned, according to the JoongAng Ilbo. The nature of the 82-year-old's injuries is not known. The Korea Herald reported that the couple's white Tivoli “flipped onto its side and crashed into the sinkhole”.

The couple was driving on Seongsan-ro toward Seongsandaegyo Bridge when the 2.5-meter sinkhole opened up around 11:30 a.m. Photos and videos show the vehicle lying on its side in the hole, which appears to have formed just before the car fell.

Emergency responders removed the vehicle and secured the area, causing traffic jams in Seoul. An investigation is underway to determine the cause of the sinkhole, the Korea Herald reported.

Sinkholes

In South Korea, nearly 900 sinkholes have been reported between 2019 and 2023, the country's Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said. Half of these incidents were caused by damaged sewer pipes.

Sinkholes form when rock below the surface, such as limestone, is dissolved by groundwater, creating caverns that, when they become too large, cause the surface to collapse.