Watch The Insane Moment Two People Get Swallowed By Sinkhole [Video]

The moment a sinkhole suddenly opened up and swallowed two people has been caught on surveillance camera.

The two people who were swallowed by the sinkhole plummeted ten feet to the bottom, and were rescued by firefighters. Fortunately, the man and woman sustained only minor injuries.

The incident happened in Seoul, South Korea. The two sinkhole victims were exiting a bus at their stop at the Yongsan rail station when they stepped on the sidewalk, and the sidewalk simply gave away. The video was captured by the surveillance camera on the bus, and shows the exact moment the sidewalk literally drops out from beneath them, taking the two bus passengers down with it.

It had to be terrifying. They disembark the bus, perhaps something they do every day as part of their commute, only to find that the very ground beneath their feet has given away.

The sinkhole opened up not far from a construction site where apartments are being built. Information about why the sinkhole opened up is being sought during an investigation by the Korean Geotechnical Society, as well as city officials in Seoul.

Sinkholes can be both man-made — as it is suspected in this particular case, due to nearby construction — or naturally occurring. So-called “natural” sinkholes are caused by a surface layer of earth giving away because of bedrock erosion below. According to a report on sinkholes by the Guardian, the cause of the erosion is due to acidic rainwater that seeps through the soil on the surface and eventually reaches bedrock.

“In a process that can last hundreds, sometimes thousands of years, the water gradually dissolves small parts of the rock, enlarging its natural fissures and joints and creating cavities beneath…

As the process continues, the loose, unconsolidated soil and sand above is gradually washed into these cracks and voids. Depending on how thick and strong that top layer is (sand will not last long; clay can hold out for millennia), and how close to the surface the void beneath is, the land may be able to sustain its own weight – and that of whatever we build on top of it. But as the holes grow, there will come a day when the surface layer will simply give way.”

And “simply gave way” is exactly what the sidewalk beneath the feet of the two swallowed by the sinkhole did.

Watch the amazing video footage below.

Sinkholes are so prevalent in Florida that there is actually a time of the year designated as “sinkhole season.” Click here to see how one sinkhole left a Florida family scrambling. Or to read about the mysterious giant craters in Siberia and to see what scientists believe may be the cause of those, click here.

[Image via Youtube]