Sinkhole swallows half of Pittsburgh bus during rush hour

Officials say two people were on bus at time, but both were uninjured

A bus has fallen into a sinkhole in downtown Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, after ground gave way beneath the vehicle as it waited at a traffic light during rush hour.

Video and pictures of the scene show the bus with its rear end in the ground where the road cracked and fell, and the front of the vehicle several feet off the ground.

The incident caused officials to evacuate multiple businesses in the nearby area, including a daycare inside nearby Convention Tower.

Two people were on the bus when the sink hole gobbled it up, officials told KDKA, but both were left unharmed.

Traffic has been detoured around the area of the sinkhole, which opened up at the intersection of 10th Street and Penn Ave.

Sinkholes are created by erosion and the drainage of water, and can range in size from just a few feet in diameter to some that are large enough to swallow whole buildings. And, while they are often the result of natural processes in the ground, human activity can also trigger the phenomenon as well.

Most often, although they are dramatic, sinkholes are not as dangerous as they may seem.

After a sinkhole opens up, they can generally be dealt with safely, although there have been deaths related to the phenomenon before.

In 2010, for instance, a massive 65ft wide and 100ft deep sinkhole appeared in Guatemala City, killing 15 people and swallowing a three-storey factory building.