Huge sinkhole in Rome swallows two cars

(Patria) - A huge sinkhole opened up on a street in southeastern Rome and swallowed two parked cars.

The sinkhole, 10 meters in diameter and also about 10 meters deep, opened up in the early morning hours, Italian media reported, citing local police.

Photos and videos of the massive crater quickly spread on social media.

There are no reports of casualties, and emergency services said there were no people on the street during the incident. Local police and firefighters arrived at the scene.

Un gran socavón se abrió y se tragó dos vehículos en Quadraro, Roma, Italia 🇮🇹 pic.twitter.com/qJ1Dt7Evas

— Centinela35 (@Centinela_35) March 28, 2024

Police closed the road overnight and secured the endangered area in the Quadraro neighborhood. Photos show parked cars and other vehicles next to the sinkhole, which had to be removed.

Craters often open up in major Italian cities. At the end of February, a huge sinkhole in Naples, southern Italy, swallowed several cars in a busy district.

Such incidents are not uncommon in Rome either. One of the reasons for this is the age of the Italian capital, where excavations and construction work have been carried out for hundreds of years.