A massive part of a road in China's Shanghai caved in, creating a sinkhole. A CCTV video of the incident also went viral, showing the busy road sinking in and creating a large void.
The footage shows the road caving in as nearby structures and vehicles also get swallowed. People passing by can be seen running away in panic as large cracks appear on the road.
The incident occurred at the junction of Qixin Road and Li'an Road, an area undergoing significant underground works for a new Metro Line, the Daily Mail reported.
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The report also said that there were no reports of fatalities or injuries after the incident. Some containers, along with barricades, also went down along with the road.
{{/usCountry}}The report also said that there were no reports of fatalities or injuries after the incident. Some containers, along with barricades, also went down along with the road.
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Why did the road cave in?
The city faces a constant risk of roads caving in due to soft alluvial soils, excessive groundwater extraction, thin sand layers, and voids created by urban construction.
In a similar incident last year, a part of a road collapsed in Thailand, creating a massive sinkhole and prompting residents in the vicinity to evacuate.
The portion of the road was under construction for a subway station, and a hole around 20 metres deep was created.
In 2024, a road in Minhang District reportedly collapsed around 10 metres underground after a sewage pipe broke.
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A large part of China is built over karst terrain, which is made of soluble rocks such as limestone and dolomite. Groundwater eats away the soluble roacks leading to a reduction in the quality of the roads, the report said. Heavy rainfall can accelerate the process by seeping into cracks in the rock and widening them.
According to the US Geological Survey, a sinkhole is a depression in the ground that has no natural external surface drainage. It is very common in karst terrain.
Sinkholes are extremely dangerous as the ground might seem intact for a long period of time until the underground soluble rocks dissolve and the surface suddenly collapses.