Florida man presumed dead after being swallowed by sinkhole
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By MYFOXATLANTA STAFF
Photo credit: MyFoxTampaBay.com
BRANDON, Fla. -
A Florida man and part of his house have been swallowed up by what authorities say is a large sinkhole that opened up late Thursday. The man was left trapped underground is presumed dead.
Brandon, Fla. fire officials tell our Tampa sister station, FOX 13 News, that the hole-- which is about 30 feet wide and 20 feet deep-- is too dangerous to send emergency crews in.
The man has been identified as 36-year-old Jeff Bush. His brother, Jeremy, told FOX 13 he heard a loud crash and then ran into his brother's bedroom. He said all he saw was the top of the bed, so he jumped into the hole to try and get his brother out. He said he could hear his brother screaming for him.
A deputy jumped into the hole to pull Jeremy Bush out, and possibly saved his life.
FOX 13 reports rescue crews tried to send a camera and a listening device into the sinkhole early Friday, but it was swallowed up too.
All day and night Friday, there
was no way to remove Jeff Bush's body safely from the sinkhole that took
his life late Thursday night.
"There is a very large, very fluid mass underneath this house,
rendering the entire house and the entire lot dangerous and unsafe,"
said Bill Bracken, who is a structural engineer.
Even the slightest vibration, he said, could trigger a massive collapse, making it impossible for them to recover Bush's body for now.
No visible damage was seen outside the home. The hole, for now, is contained inside the four-bedroom home. Officials said it is condemned.
With her son holding her elbow, Colleen Arvin walked up her driveway to what was left of her house for 40 years.
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