A man was missing early Friday after a large sinkhole opened under the bedroom of a house near Tampa and his brother says the man screamed for help before he disappeared.
The 34-year-old man's brother told rescue crews he heard a loud crash around 11 p.m. Thursday, then heard his brother screaming for help.
"When he got there, there was no bedroom left," Hillsborough County Fire Rescue spokeswoman Jessica Damico said. "There was no furniture. All he saw was a piece of the mattress sticking up."
The brother called 911 and frantically tried to help his brother. An arriving deputy pulled the brother from the still-collapsing house.
Officials say 5 adults and one child in total were in the house.
There's been no contact with the man since then and neighbors on both sides of the Brandon home have been evacuated.
"We put engineering equipment into the sinkhole and didn't see anything compatible with life," Damico said. But Damico would not say that the man is presumed dead.
Damico said that at the surface, she estimates the sinkhole is about 30 feet across but officials say the sinkhole spreads to about 100 feet across below the surface. Authorities were waiting for an engineering crew to bring monitoring equipment to determine the borders of the sinkhole, she said.
"The entire house is on the sinkhole," Damico said.
Neighbors nearby have been evacuated from the scene, 240 Faithway Drive, and are looking for a place to stay through the Red Cross.
Family members declined to comment.
Florida has more sinkholes than any other state in the nation.
Wednesday, June 19 2013 10:55 PM EDT2013-06-20 02:55:03 GMT
The actor James Gandolfini, best known for his award-winning portrayal of New Jersey mobster Tony Soprano in the HBO series "The Sopranos," has died in Italy. He was 51.
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Joe Torre's daughter caught a 1-year-old boy who fell from a fire escape outside a second-floor apartment in the Bay Ridge section of Brooklyn Wednesday morning.
Joe Torre's daughter caught a 1-year-old boy who fell from a fire escape outside a second-floor apartment in the Bay Ridge section of Brooklyn Wednesday morning.
New York state and Eastman Kodak Co. have reached a deal that will keep some of the troubled company's operations in Rochester and provide $49 million for environmental cleanup at the once bustling Eastman...
New York state and Eastman Kodak Co. have reached a deal that will keep some of the troubled company's operations in Rochester and provide $49 million for environmental cleanup at the once bustling Eastman Business Park.
Wednesday, June 19 2013 6:51 PM EDT2013-06-19 22:51:22 GMT
Franklin Reyes, 17, was in court Wednesday. He is charged with the death of 4-year-old Ariel Russo.
Franklin Reyes, 17, was in court Wednesday. He is charged with the death of 4-year-old Ariel Russo. He is accused of driving without a license, then fleeing police, jumping a curb, and hitting Ariel and her grandmother as they were walking to school.
Wednesday, June 19 2013 6:13 PM EDT2013-06-19 22:13:15 GMT
More than 70 percent of New Jersey residents have seen or heard the state's "Stronger than the Storm" advertising campaign, according to a new Rutgers-Eagleton poll.
More than 70 percent of New Jersey residents have seen or heard the state's "Stronger than the Storm" advertising campaign, according to a new Rutgers-Eagleton poll.
Wednesday, June 19 2013 4:30 PM EDT2013-06-19 20:30:42 GMT
The FBI has found possible human remains in a dig at the New York City house once occupied by a famous gangster. An FBI spokesman confirmed Wednesday that agents found material that they want to test as part of an investigation.
The FBI has found possible human remains in a dig at the New York City house once occupied by a famous gangster. An FBI spokesman confirmed Wednesday that agents found material that they want to test as part of an investigation.
