Earth opens up and swallows Florida man sleeping in his bed - still missing as sinkhole grows 100 feet wide

Tina Burnside
CNN
Fri, 01 Mar 2013 04:40 UTC

A 36-year-old man is missing after a sinkhole opened up under his bedroom in Brandon, Florida.

A 36-year-old man disappeared Thursday night when a sinkhole opened up under his bedroom in Florida, swallowing him as his brother tried to rescue him, authorities said.

Right after the ground started to give way in his home in Brandon, his brother frantically tried to keep him from sinking into the hole, an emergency official said.

The first deputy on the scene pulled the victim's brother from the edge of the growing chasm, said Jessica Damico, a spokeswoman for the Hillsborough County Fire Rescue.

Authorities have been unable to contact the man as the sinkhole expanded. The house was deemed unsafe for rescuers, Damico said.

Late Thursday night, the hole was about 100 feet wide and still growing, authorities said.

Area homes have been evacuated.