Rare sinkhole swallows two cars in San Antonio, one dead

Chris Shadrock
ksat.com
Sun, 04 Dec 2016 12:01 UTC

© SBG San Antonio

Emergency crews are on the scene of a massive sink hole on the Southwest Side Sunday night.

Multiple San Antonio firefighters engaged in a high water rescue operation in the 8400 block of Quintana Road on San Antonio's Southwest Side after multiple cars got trapped in a sinkhole.

The rescue occurred near the intersection with Leon Creek. Initial calls for help came in just after 5:30 p.m. Sunday.

At least two vehicles were submerged by water -- including one that was flipped onto its roof.

Emergency responders believe the sinkhole could be 10 feet deep.

A man in his 60s was rescued by bystanders, both the man and one of the bystanders were taken to a hospital for treatment. SAFD is unsure if there are people in the other submerged vehicle, but said they fear the worse. Crews will have to wait until Monday morning to see if there are any victims in the second car.

Responders believe a busted water pipe, combined with the rainy weather is to blame for the sinkhole.

Crews from San Antonio Water System are en route to the scene.

At least seven fire were dispatched to the scene.

In the last 48 hours, portions of Bexar County have picked up more than 6 inches of rain.

The area remains under a flash flood watch until 6 a.m. Monday.

Comment: According to Dr. Yongli Gao, a geological sciences professor at the University of Texas at San Antonio, sinkholes in that area of the city are rare:

According to Dr. Gao, sink holes are nothing new to the area but are usually seen on the city's north side closer to the Edwards Aquifer, which is why he's surprised to see one so far south.

When asked if a sinkhole like the one seen Sunday could happen anywhere throughout San Antonio, Dr. Gao said, "Yeah it's possible, but I would say the probability is pretty low."

Dr. Gao said one major reason sinkholes are rare in the southern part of San Antonio is because the bed rock is usually pretty far down beneath the ground surface.

NBC news also reports that a woman was killed in the incident.

See also: Sinkholes: The groundbreaking truth