One Man Dead And One Injured As Footage Captures Giant Sinkhole Opening In Swimming Pool

One man has died and another was left injured after a sinkhole opened up beneath a swimming pool, authorities have said. 

Guests at the pool party in Karmei Yosef in Israel reacted in shock as the base of the pool split open and began to suck in water and inflatables. 

Footage shows a couple of men staying near to the hole as it grows wider, while shocked onlookers can be heard crying out in surprise.

After the alarm was raised, rescuers launched an operation to find a man, aged 30, who was missing - fearing he had been dragged down the hole and pulled away by water. 

Fire and Rescue Services said the rescue operations could ‘take hours’ and warned there were fears that the tunnels leading away from the sinkhole could also collapse causing a secondary sinkhole to open up. 

Rescuers inside the sinkhole had to attempt to build a structure to help support the pool from collapsing further. 

Tragically, hours after the search got underway, the man’s lifeless body was found, according to the Kan News - Israel Public Broadcasting. 

Another man, aged 34, was left with bruising to his body and was treated at the scene by paramedics. 

Prior to the man’s body being found, Magen David Adom (MDA) paramedic Uri Damari told The Jerusalem Post: "This is a very unusual incident. When I got to the scene I saw a pit that had opened at the bottom of the empty pool. People who were at the site told me that the pit opened suddenly and within a few seconds all the water of the pool was pulled in.

"A 34-year-old man who pulled himself out of the pit was sitting outside the pool agitated. He suffered minor injuries to his head and limbs and after medical treatment we evacuated him to the hospital.”

Emergency service workers are carrying out surveillance in the area for other sinkholes, with a police helicopter joining efforts. 

Speaking to local news outlet Channel 12, one witness said there had been around 50 guests at the pool, which is believed to have been hosting a party for a private company, when the incident occured. 

The witness said: “The water level suddenly started receding and a hole opened up, creating a vortex that swept two people inside.”

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