Sinkhole Opens Up Under Man’s Brandon Home Bedroom, Still Missing
A 36-year-old Brandon man is missing Friday morning after a large sinkhole suddenly opened up under his bedroom.
Around 11 p.m. the man’s brother said he heard a large crash and his brother screaming for help. Jessica Damico, spokeswoman for the Hillsborough County Fire Rescue, said when the brother arrived to the bedroom, he saw nothing but a piece of mattress sticking straight up.
The man frantically called 911 and tried helping his brother. A deputy arrived to the scene pulled the brother from the house, which was still collapsing.
No contact has been made with the missing man since that time and neighbors on either side of the home are evacuated as a precaution. Officials with Hillsborough County Fire Rescue said the home is too unstable to continue any rescue efforts.
Damico said engineering equipment was placed into the sinkhole but nothing compatible with life was found. Both cameras and listening devices have been placed into the hole but there has been no contact with the 36-year-old missing man since the disappearance. She did not say if the department believed the man was dead.
At the surface, Damico said the hole is estimated to be approximately 30 feet across. Officials, however, say the sinkhole, under the surface is approximately 100 feet across. Authorities are on standby for the engineering crew’s monitoring equipment to figure out the sinkhole’s borders.
Damico said the whole house is sitting on the sinkhole. Engineers have condemned the home.
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