Featured Image Credit: JAM PRESS
Topics: News, Cars, World News, Viral, Social Media
Shola Lee
A man is lucky to be alive after his motorbike plunged into a sinkhole and, honestly, the video is enough to scare us off the road.
Motorcyclist Bhopal Singh Medu was driving on Bhagat's Kothi-Basni road, Jodhpur, when his silver scooter was suddenly 'swallowed' up by the ground beneath him.
Footage of the incident circulated around social media on the 24 September and shows Bhopal's bike stuck in the near 5ft-deep hole. Seriously, you've got to watch this:
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It had started as a pretty ordinary journey, with Bhopal driving towards Veer Durgadas Bridge, but just as the man passed Bhagat Ki Kothi railway station, he felt the ground give way.
The back part of his bike went down first, with Bhopal and the rest of the bike falling along with it, which we're pretty sure has happened in our nightmares.
Thankfully, people nearby stopped to help the man and dragged him out of the scary-looking sinkhole.
Bhopal sustained injuries to his shoulder, knee, and leg but was able to go home after the accident.
After hearing about the sinkhole, police responded and diverted traffic with the road from New Campus to Bhagat Ki Kothi station remaining closed for the time being.
Still, it's enough to make us feel a little funny walking along the pavement.
And if you're wondering what exactly causes sinkholes, National Geographic are on hand with a scary explanation.
"A sinkhole is a hole in the ground that forms when water dissolves surface rock. Often, this surface rock is limestone, which is easily eroded, or worn away, by the movement of water," they explained.
"In a landscape where limestone sits underneath the soil, water from rainfall collects in cracks in the stone. These cracks are called joints. Slowly, as the limestone dissolves and is carried away, the joints widen until the ground above them becomes unstable and collapses."
Sinkholes can also be caused when the roof of an underground cave collapses or can occur naturally in times of excess rainfall.
While sinkholes are often a dangerous cause for concern they can, occasionally, reveal hidden worlds - scientists have recently discovered an entire forest inside a 630-foot-deep giant sinkhole in China.
The sinkhole contains a load of ancient trees and plants that could well include some species that have never been discovered before.
Located in Leye County, in the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region in China, the sinkhole was discovered by cave explorers on 6 May, who found three cave entrances inside the 1,004 feet long and 492 feet wide void.
Speaking to Live Science, expedition leader Chen Lixin said: “I wouldn’t be surprised to know that there are species found in these caves that have never been reported or described by science until now."
Yep, so sinkholes might well steal your bike but very occasionally, they can be sites for incredible exploration.
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