ST. LOUIS — A sinkhole opened on a downtown St. Louis street on Thursday morning, engulfing a car before 7 a.m., according to multiple reports.
The sinkhole, which is several feet deep, appeared on Sixth Street north of Olive Street and opened under a Toyota Camry, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported.
Time to get the car out of the #sixthstsinkhole. #STL @kmoxnews pic.twitter.com/qexNLPkrQA
— Michael Calhoun (@michaelcalhoun) June 29, 2017
The car's owners told WTVI they were at a nearby gym when the pit appeared.
“I was a little shaky,” Jordan Westerbergh told the news station. “It’s crazy. I’m just glad we weren’t inside.”
Photos of the sinkhole showed water gushing from a broken pipe. St. Louis city and traffic inspector Greg Prater told KMOV that the 8-inch water main has been broken "for some time" and was previously repaired at least once.
Sinkhole swallows car in downtown St. Louis https://t.co/z7DOuHdHWK pic.twitter.com/6oMbSm0gZZ
— STLtoday (@stltoday) June 29, 2017
With the help of a crane, authorities were able to get the Camry out of the pit before 9 a.m., according to WTVI.
The car is out of the sinkhole! pic.twitter.com/zoj0oastzo
— Abby Llorico KSDK (@AbbyLlorico) June 29, 2017
It was not immediately clear what caused the sinkhole.
No injuries were reported.
Cox Media Group
