No one wants to leave their home around the holiday season. A British family was left only “three seconds from death” after a huge sinkhole opened just inches away from their backdoor.
The shocking incident occurred outside Haden Arch Court in the United Kingdom. A local man named Harry Chadha said he was standing near the location when the hole emerged and the ground caved in.
An evacuation was ordered by West Midlands Fire Service and gas officials when the hole first emerged. They have been working on filling the hole back up but needed to make another hole in order for surface water to be collected.
Despite the incident happening on November 20, 2022, many residents were unable to return home during Christmas. Chadha was one of the people unable to return home to get any belongings. “I must have done something good somewhere because I should be dead. Three seconds earlier and I would have been a goner,” he said.
Chadha added: “What scared me was the gas gushing out of the hole but initially I was still told it was OK to stay there that night.”
The man and his family have been forced to find a rental property to move into after being told it would take “months” to sort out the problem.
It has since been determined by the water company that it was caused by a collapsed sewer. A Severn Trent spokesman said: “The sinkhole has appeared due to a damaged sewer pipe, which was built over without the correct build-over agreement, meaning the foundations of the building are very close to the pipe.
“This means it will be a complicated and complex repair with access issues and will take time to complete.”