Watch: Sinkhole forms at bottom of swimming pool, pulls man into it; house owners held

The accident happened during a private party reportedly hosted by a man and woman in their sixties, at their house near Tel Aviv. The couple was arrested by the Israeli police for negligence.

In an unprecedented turn of events, a man was reported to have died after being sucked into a sinkhole that formed at the bottom of a swimming pool at a villa near Tel Aviv, Israel. Police said they placed a couple – in their sixties – under house arrest after they were found guilty of causing ‘death by negligence’. They were arrested on Thursday night and a court decided to release them Friday under “restrictive conditions of house arrest” for five days.

Screengrab of the scene where a sinkhole formed at the bottom of a swimming pool.(Twitter)

The incident was reported at a private party the couple hosted at their house in the town of Karmi Yosef, about 40 kilometers away from Tel Aviv.

A video from the party captured the moment when floaties and water were suddenly sucked to the bottom, at the center of the pool. People sitting by the poolside started shouting in Hebrew as they alerted people in the pool, seeing someone getting pulled into the sinkhole.

A man was seen approaching the sinkhole, trying to rescue the person who slipped but he backed away as he was almost pulled in too.

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The police said the deceased 30-year-old was found following a search mission in which Israeli police, emergency crews and the army took part. There were six people in the pool at the time of the incident.

Israeli media cited witnesses as saying the party was attended by nearly 50 people, of whom six were in the pool, and also reported that the homeowner had built the pool without proper licensing.

(With inputs from AP)