US Man "Swallowed" Alive by Florida Sink Hole

A US man lying in his bed was swallowed up by a gaping sink hole that opened up under his room in a Florida town, officials said Friday.

Published

10 months ago

Categories

US

Topics

United States

People

Jeremy Bush, Jeff Bush

Places

United States of America, Florida, Tampa

Tags

sinkhole

Transcript

SHOTLIST: BRANDON, FLORIDA, MARCH 1, 2013, SOURCE: CBS **RESTRICTIONS: NO RESALE for non editorial purposes No Japan No Free over the air broadcasters in Australia No US cable news outlets, free over the air networks or stations, their websites and their mobile phone services No images. SOUNDBITE 1 Ron Rogers (man), Hillsborough County Fire Chief (English, 21 sec): "Shortly after 11 o’clock last night, the family, the Bush family was in the house behind us. They heard a sound that they described as a car crash emanating from the bedroom in the back of the house. They rushed in. All they could see was part of a mattress sticking out of the hole." SOUNDBITE 2 Ron Rogers (man), Hillsborough County Fire Chief (English, 23 sec): "Essentially, the floor of that room had opened up. They could hear the nephew in the hole. But they could not see him. His brother jumped in to try to extricate him out, could not see him. He had to be rescued by Hillsborough Office deputy who was first on the scene, who went in and extricated him." SOUNDBITE 3 Ron Rogers (man), Hillsborough County Fire Chief (English, 20 sec): "We placed some of our urban searching rescue equipment that are specialized for this type of emergency, so listening devices that are designed to hear essentially the sound a mouse would make walking across the floor. They’re that sensitive. They did not detect any signs of life. They did insert some cameras into the holes as well to try to locate him." --------------- AFP TEXT STORY: US-accident-disaster,2ndlead US man 'swallowed' alive by sink hole ATTENTION - ADDS quotes from fire chief, detail /// WASHINGTON, March 1, 2013 (AFP) - A US man lying in his bed was swallowed up by a gaping sink hole that opened up under his room in a Florida town, officials said Friday. The yawning chasm opened up overnight as Jeff Bush, 36, slept in his bedroom sucking him into the hole at the home, where several other family members escaped uninjured. "I heard a loud crash like a car coming through the house and I heard my brother screaming," said Jeremy Bush, who said through tears that he tried in vain to rescue his brother. "All I seen was this big hole, real big hole and all I seen was his mattress," said Bush, who recounted how he jumped into the hole and started digging frantically. "I couldn't find him. I thought I could hear him holler for me to help him," Bush said. He added: "I know in my heart, he's dead." Authorities called to the scene found a hole of about 100 feet (30 meters) in diameter. Hillsborough County Fire Department chief Brian Rogers said rescue officials were able to pull Jeremy Bush out of the hole, and later lowered ultra sensitive listening devices and cameras into the crater in search of any sign of his brother. The devices are "designed to hear essentially the sound a mouse would make walking across the floor. They are that sensitive," Rogers said. No sign of life was detected. A local fire official that Jeff Bush is unlikely to have survived the disaster, which occurred the town of Brandon, a suburb of Tampa. As rescue teams worked, the earth underneath the structure continued to collapse, and authorities evacuated nearby houses, Rogers told a news conference. vlk-dw/sg