A man was found dead after he was sucked into a sinkhole which opened up in a swimming pool in front of shocked partygoers. Around 50 people were attending a work pool party at a villa in the Israeli town of Karmei Yosef, when the tragic accident happened, report Mirror Online.
One man, aged 30, according to local reports, was sucked underground when the bottom of the pool collapsed. Terrifying video evidence from the event showed swimmers hanging on to the edges of the pool as the water drained rapidly and inflatables disappeared underground.
After a four-hour rescue operation, the man’s body was located at the end of a 15-metre tunnel, reported The Sun. Rescue staff used Go-Pro cameras as they looked for the man in a large pit under the pool, according to The Times of Israel.
Emergency service workers erected a structure to prevent the surface of the pool from sinking any further while they carried out the search operation. A 34-year-old man who was also dragged under by the sinkhole managed to climb out and escape with only minor injuries.
One of the party attendees told Israel’s Channel 12: “The water level suddenly started receding and a hole opened up, creating a vortex that swept two people inside.”
Another witness told Ynet that six people were in the pool when the sinkhole appeared, swallowing the man who died within seconds. She said in quotes reported by The Sun: “Seconds later, the ground just dropped… I watched two people just disappear.”
Paramedic Uri Damari told The Jerusalem Post: “This is a very unusual incident. When I got to the scene I saw a pit that had opened at the bottom of the empty pool. People who were at the site told me that the pit opened suddenly and within a few seconds all the water of the pool was pulled in.”
A helicopter is being used by authorities to locate any other sinkholes in the local area, while police have begun an investigation into any issues with the pool.
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