100ft sinkhole reopened after it swallowed screaming man whose body was never found
A sinkhole which swallowed up a man, resulting in his body never being found, has reopened.
Jeffrey Bush, 37, was sleeping when a sinkhole opened up beneath his home in Florida, US back in 2013, resulting in the floor collapsing bellow him and dragging him beneath the ground.
By the time Jeffrey's brother had arrived upon hearing his calls for help, the dirt had already risen to neck height.
Meanwhile, Jeffrey was nowhere to be seen.
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Jeffrey was sadly never found in the sinkhole, and has ever since been presumed dead following the terrifying incident.
Now, ten years on from the freak accident, the same sinkhole has reopened in exactly the same spot.
It measures around 12ft by 12ft, and has been fenced off with two layers of barriers to stop anyone from getting too close to it.
Despite this, local police in Hillsborough County have said that it is safe for people living nearby to remain in their homes.
John-Paul Lavandeira of the Hillsborough County Enforcement said: "This is something that is out of all of our control. This is a Mother Nature thing. This isn’t a man-made scenario, but we do have a plan in place.
"We have the right experts in place. This is under control. There is a reason why there are double fences where this thing is."
Sinkholes are common in Florida due to the geography of the ground. Limestone underneath the soil can dissolve in rainwater, causing spaces underneath the ground which can then collapse suddenly.
Sinkholes can be filled in using gravel, but can remain unstable as this one has certainly shown.
But these efforts weren't enough to save Jeffrey after the sinkhole opened up in 2013.
Following the horrific incident, his brother Jeremy recalled hearing his cries for help.
He said: "The floor was still giving in and the dirt was still going down, but I didn't care.
"He was screaming my name. I could swear I heard him hollering my name to help him. I wanted to save my brother. But I just couldn't do nothing."
Jeremy himself needed the help of police to get out of the sinkhole after he rushed to his brother's rescue.
Despite officials lowering equipment down into the sinkhole they could not see any sign of Jeffrey. Terrifyingly, they also found that the sinkhole was much bigger underground than it appeared to be to them on the surface.
While at the ground level it measured around 30ft across, under the ground they estimated it could have measured as much as 100ft across.
Topics: US News
Kit Roberts