The Washington PostDemocracy Dies in Darkness

Massive sinkhole along Florence river swallows dozens of cars

By
May 25, 2016 at 2:08 p.m. EDT
A row of parked cars are thrown into a ditch after part of a road collapses in the Italian city of Florence. (Video: Reuters)

For your sake, I really hope you didn't park your car along the banks of the Arno River in Florence. Because it may be stuck in a giant sinkhole.

An underground water main burst Wednesday morning along the Arno, causing the ground to open up near the iconic Ponte Vecchio bridge, the Associated Press reported. Dozens of cars were buried in the sinkhole, which measured about 650 feet long and 20 feet across.

Mayor Dario Nardella said on Twitter that no one was injured in the collapse on the Lungarno Torrigiani, a road that runs along the Arno River. But he asked anyone with cars still parked on the road to move them elsewhere.

A gash in a two-foot-wide water main caused the collapse, Nardella said, according to the AP.

This video shows a sidewalk in China swallowing five people

As a precaution, two nearby buildings were evacuated and the water supply and power in the surrounding areas was cut off, authorities said. Schools will reopen Thursday.

The Ponte Vecchio bridge, a popular tourist spot, is a 14th-century bridge that connects Florence's two banks.

Shortly after the water main burst, it was unclear whether it would be safe to use cranes to lift the waterlogged cars out because the asphalt nearby was so weakened, the AP reported. Hours later, authorities posted photos of some of the cars being removed.