A man was left horrified after he fell through a sinkhole and ended up trapped underground with rats.
Leonard Shoulders, 33, from the Bronx in New York said he couldn't even scream or shout for help for fear that the rats would climb into his mouth.
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The man, who had been waiting for a bus at the time, is now said to be recovering after falling 12ft down the hole.
Speaking to NBC New York, Shoulder's mum Cindy White said her son was traumatised following the ordeal.
She told the news outlet: "It could have been anyone. It could have been anyone it was a whole scary situation. It was my son and thank God he's alive.
"He went down feet first. He was just standing and the sidewalk just... it was like a suction. Like a sinkhole. He just went down.
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"He is traumatised. He said he went straight down. He said he was just falling, falling. But the debris was falling and hitting him in the head."
She went on to say Shoulders was left too afraid to shout for help in case one of the rodents got inside his mouth.
White added: "He was like, 'Ma, the rats down there were ridiculous'. He was like, 'they were like so big'.
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"He was scared to yell out because he thought they were going to go in his mouth."
The man was stuck down the hole for almost an hour before help arrived at the scene and he was pulled out.
A fence has since been put up to keep other members of the public safe while crews work on the hole.
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The Department of Buildings, which is investigating the incident, said in a statement: "Potential enforcement actions are pending the results of that investigation.
"The Full Vacate Order is still in effect, and a construction fence has been erected around the building in the interest of public safety."
Three businesses on the street have been closed while the investigation goes on, while several local workers say they are now concerned for their own safety.
One person who works nearby told CBS New York: "You never really think about it when you're walking around, there's just holes around the streets."
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While another added: "There's a lot of kids that pass through here, a lot of kids. It's obviously in front of a hospital. There's a lot of people that transit with wheelchairs."
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Topics: US News