A Giant Sinkhole Swallowed A Bus In Pittsburgh, Munched On A Kia Too

The rear of a city bus in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania was swallowed up by a massive sinkhole on Monday, making for a rather bizarre incident.

According to KDKA CBS 2 News, the bus was waiting at a red light at roughly 8:00 A.M. local time when a water main broke underneath the road and crippled the integrity of the pavement. The weight of the rear-engined bus saw it break through the pavement, leaving it in a very precarious position. A Kia Optima was almost swallowed up by the sinkhole as well.

Also Read: “Sammy The Sinkhole” Takes A Bite Out Of Toyota Highlander, Leaves It In Limbo

Authorities initially had some difficulties working out how they would remove the bus.

For those curious, the heaviest part of the bus is the back because that’s where the engine is located. This bus was stopped at a red light at the time this occurred. pic.twitter.com/HT3DNQxNCR

— Pittsburgh Regional Transit (@PGHtransit) October 28, 2019

“The problem that we’re having is that we have to lift that Port Authority bus straight up, because we have a Duquesne Light electrical vault involved, we have several gas lines involved and we don’t want to create any further problems than what we have now,” a spokesperson said.

Only the driver and a single passenger were onboard when the sinkhole opened up beneath the bus. Both were able to get out, with the passenger later being taken to Allegheny General Hospital with minor neck pain.

At approximately 5 p.m. on Monday evening, a pair of cranes arrived on the site and were used to lift the bus out of the sinkhole. The road is expected to be closed for at least one to two weeks as it is repaired.

UPDATE: The Blue Kia Optima has been safely removed from sink crew. Officials examining bus.
Contrary to some reports, there are no evacuation orders in place at this time. Subject to change. Updates to come. https://t.co/VHLaIn9UFO pic.twitter.com/D2iYgPnDcE

— Pittsburgh Public Safety (@PghPublicSafety) October 28, 2019