Giant sinkhole swalllows father, teens

[Sequoia]

GUATEMALA CITY, Guatemala (AP) -- A giant sinkhole opened before dawn Friday, swallowing several homes and a truck and leaving a father and two teenagers missing in Guatemala City.

Officials said the 100-meter-deep (330-foot-deep) sinkhole in a crowded neighborhood of poor, concrete homes was caused by recent rains and an underground sewage flow from a ruptured main.

National disaster coordinator Hugo Hernandez identified the missing as Domingo, Irma and David Sosyos, ages 53, 18 and 15, respectively. A body appeared in a river of sewage near the sinkhole, but it was unclear whether the corpse was a victim.

"The shaking of the house woke us up," said 26-year old Edward Ramirez, who lives 50 meters (50 yards) from the sinkhole and said residents had been hearing noises and feeling tremors for about a month. "People were shouting 'the electric posts are falling down!' We are going to a friend's house now, there's no way we'll stay here."

http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/americas/02/23/sinkhole.ap/index.html

[mikelgb]

1. damn

hope they find them

[northzax]

2. damn, that sucks

also for me, cause I was going to blame Mrs. Brady. but it stopped being funny when I got to the part where they were still missing.

[frogcycle]

3. could we get one of these for crawford, tx?

[BootinUp]

4. what a way to go...damn. n/t

[Olney Blue]

5. Awful news.

:(

[tabasco]

6. Those poor people!

:cry:

What an enormous sinkhole - this one caused by man.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

7. 330 feet

Really?

[Eugene]

8. AP: 2 Killed in Guatemala City Sinkhole

2 Killed in Guatemala City Sinkhole
Giant sinkhole swallows a dozen homes in Guatemala City;
2 teenage siblings killed

GUATEMALA CITY, Guatemala, Feb. 24, 2007
By JUAN CARLOS LLORCA Associated Press Writer

(AP) A 330-foot-deep sinkhole killed two teenage siblings when it swallowed
about a dozen homes early Friday and forced the evacuation of nearly 1,000
people in a crowded Guatemala City neighborhood.

Officials blamed the sinkhole on recent rains and an underground sewage flow
from a ruptured main. They warned that the crater could widen or others could
open up.

The bodies of the brother and sister were found near the enormous fissure,
floating in a river of sewage. Their father was still missing, according to
disaster coordinator Hugo Hernandez.

-snip-

Full article: http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/02/24/ap/world/mainD8NFSAH80.shtml

[Judi Lynn]

9. That photo is horrendous. The story is unbearable.

Found another look at that nightmare:


3rd body found in Guatemala sinkhole
By Juan Carlos Llorca, Associated Press Writer | February 24, 2007

GUATEMALA CITY --Emergency crews on Saturday found a third body in a 330-foot-deep sinkhole that had swallowed a dozen homes and forced the evacuation of nearly 1,000 people in a crowded Guatemala City neighborhood.

The body of Domingo Soyos, 53, was carried out of the enormous fissure and identified by family members, medical crews said.

Soyos was the father of teenagers Irma and David Soyos, whose bodies were found floating in a river of sewage soon after the sinkhole opened on Friday.

Residents said there were other people unaccounted for, but emergency crews could not confirm that.
(snip/...)

http://www.boston.com/news/world/latinamerica/articles/2007/02/24/3rd_body_found_in_guatemala_sinkhole/

[Delphinus]

10. Isn't 330 feet rather deep for a sewage main?

Just seems like we don't go down that far.