1 March 2013
Last updated at 16:27 GMT
Engineers are trying to determine how much of the ground underneath the home is compromise by the widening sinkhole
A Florida man has disappeared into a 20ft-deep (6m) sinkhole that swallowed up a bedroom in his house.
Rescue crews have not made contact with Jeffrey Bush, 36, whose brother heard screams shortly after the hole opened.
Officials in the town near Tampa have postponed further
rescue efforts until they determine how much of the ground under the
house is compromised.
Sinkholes are common in certain parts of Florida, Hillsborough County's fire chief said.
"Florida essentially sits on a system of caverns," Chief Ron
Rogers said, saying water erosion in the caverns causes them to collapse
and sinkholes to form on the surface.
The sinkhole is currently 30ft wide and 20ft deep, but
officials have established a 100ft-wide safety zone, fearing the top of
the sinkhole is growing.
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All they could see was a part of a mattress sticking out of the hole”
Ron Rogers
Hillsborough County fire chief
"We don't know how stable the
house is," Chief Rogers said, adding that additional parts of the home
began to collapse into the ground while rescuers were inside.
Jeffrey Bush's brother Jeremy told rescue crews he heard a
loud crash near midnight on Thursday, then his brother screaming for
help.
One of the first responders to the house had to pull Jeremy Bush back from digging through the widening hole.
"All they could see was a part of a mattress sticking out of
the hole," Chief Rogers said. "Essentially the floor of that room had
opened up."
There has been no contact with Jeffrey Bush since then.
Officials said they had inserted cameras and listening kit into the hole
and had observed no signs of life, but will not say he is presumed
dead.
Neighbours on both sides of the home have been evacuated.
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