For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails
A South Korean couple's terrifying ordeal was captured on camera after a sinkhole opened directly underneath their feet - and swallowed them whole.
Show all 9 1 /9Sinkholes around the world Sinkholes around the world Dunedin, Florida The rear portion of a residential home is consumed by a sink-hole November 14, 2013. According to reports, the large sink-hole began to form between two houses the morning of November 14, and grew to size of about 30 feet wide by 30 feet deep
Getty Images
Sinkholes around the world Clermont, Florida A building sits partially collapsed over a sink-hole at Summer Bay Resort near Disney World on August 12, 2013. The 40 to 60 foot sink-hole opened up under the resort building reportedly begining late August 11 into early August 12. There were no injuries or deaths reported
Gerardo Mora/Getty Images
Sinkholes around the world Shenzhen, China Rescuers prepare to move a dead body found in a sink-hole on a road on May 21, 2013. Five people died when a 33 feet wide sink-hole opened up at the gates of an industrial estate in Shenzhen, the southern Chinese boom town neighbouring Hong Kong
AFP/Getty Images
Sinkholes around the world Chicago, Illinois Workers prepare to pull a truck from a sink-hole that opened up on a residential street in the South Deering neighborhood on April 18, 2013. The driver of the truck was hospitalized after driving into the 15-feet-deep hole while on his way to work. Two other vehicles were also swallowed by the sink-hole
Scott Olson/Getty Images
Sinkholes around the world Guangzhou, China Workers use machinery to fill in a sink-hole that buildings collapsed into near a subway construction site. The hole measured about 1,000 square feet across and was around 30 feet deep, but no one was killed, according to a state media report
STR/AFP/Getty Images
Sinkholes around the world The Dead Sea, Israel sink-holes created by the drying of the Dead Sea, near Kibbutz Ein Gedi, on November 10, 2011
Menahem Kahana/AFP/Getty Images
Sinkholes around the world Guatemala City, Guatemala A man inspects a sink-hole formed in a house on July 19, 2011 in the north of Guatemala City. When neighbors heard the loud boom overnight they thought a cooking gas canister had detonated. Instead they found a deep sink-hole the size of a large pot. The sink-hole was 40 feet deep and 32 inches in diamete
Johan Ordonez/AFP/Getty Images
Sinkholes around the world Beijing, China Workers use excavators to fill in a sink-hole which occured overnight on Shiliuzhuang road, in Beijing on April 26, 2011. A section of the road collapsed beneath a truck, slightly injuring the driver and a passenger, who both jumped out of the vehicle before it sank into the hole
STR/AFP/Getty Images
Sinkholes around the world Chevy Chase, Maryland Utlity workers examine the scene of a car caught in a sink-hole caused by a broken water main, which collapsed part of Friendship Blvd. on December 3, 2010. No one was reported injured in the accident
Logan Mock-Bunting/Getty Images
The terrifying natural phenomenon is believed to be caused by land erosion. Sinkholes are common in areas where the rock beneath the surface is sandstone, quartzite or limestone. Carbonate rock types are prone to weakening from the circulation of ground water, causing them to dissolve and unexpectedly collapse - resulting in sinkholes.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies