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WASHINGTON, Aug. 21 (Xinhua) -- A giant sinkhole that swallowed a man two years ago in the U.S. state of Florida reopened on Wednesday, according to a CNN report.
The sinkhole, about 6 meters in diameter and 15 to 18 meters in depth, opened up again in Hillsborough County on Florida's west coast. An engineer has been sent to the scene to evaluate potential dangers and authorities believed there was no resident in danger.
The same sinkhole first formed in February 2013, and was filled in after a man, Jeff Bush, was devoured by it.
Jeremy Bush, Jeff's brother, recalled that he saw his brother and all his furnishings be swallowed up by a sinkhole after he ran into Jeff's bedroom following his screaming out for help.
Jeremy jumped into the hole and frantically shoveled away rubble. But he was pulled out to safety by police as the house's floor collapsed.
Authorities called off the search for Jeff's body one week later and demolished the one-story 1970s-era house.
Days after the sinkhole swallowed Jeff, another one opened up 4 km away.
Sinkholes are common in Florida, as the state lies on bedrock made of limestone or other carbonate rock that can be eaten away by acidic groundwater, forming voids that collapse when the rock can no longer support the weight of what's above it.
Hillsborough County is part of an area known as "sinkhole alley" that accounts for two thirds of the sinkhole-linked insurance claims in the state.
