Sinkhole in New York woman’s front yard swallows her and 2 people; all rescued, police say

A 70-year-old woman in New York fell into a 6-foot-deep hole after a sinkhole opened while she was walking through her front yard.

The incident occurred on Jan. 26 in Huntington Station, a census-designated place in Suffolk County, Long Island, according to a report from FOX 5 New York.

Two men attempted to rescue the woman, but they both fell into the hole as well.

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“Suffolk County Police Second Precinct officers responded to 62 West 10th St., Huntington Station, on January 26 at 6:07 a.m. following a report of a woman stuck in a hole in the ground,” a public information officer for the Suffolk County Police Department wrote in an email this week to Fox News Digital.

The sinkhole measured approximately six feet in width and depth, according to officers who arrived at the scene.

“One of the officers, aided by a bystander, reached into the hole and pulled one person to safety,” the Suffolk County Police Department’s public information officer wrote. “In the meantime, a second officer retrieved a ladder from a neighbor and placed it in the hole for the remaining two people to climb out.”

Ring doorbell footage appears to have captured the moment when the ground quickly collapsed under the woman, as recently shared on YouTube by FOX 5 New York.

 

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The two men who attempted to rescue the woman are reportedly in their 60s. One of the men sustained injuries and was transferred to Huntington Hospital for evaluation along with the woman.

“The Town of Huntington Building Inspector was called to evaluate the property and determine the cause of the hole,” the Suffolk County Police Department’s public information officer wrote.

Fox News Digital reached out to the Town of Huntington’s building inspector for comment.

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The cause of the sinkhole is currently unknown.

What is a sinkhole?

Sinkholes are depressions in the ground that are caused when there’s “no natural external surface drainage,” according to the Department of the Interior’s U.S. Geological Survey (USGS).

“Basically, this means that when it rains, all of the water stays inside the sinkhole and typically drains into the subsurface,” the survey continues. 

“Sinkholes are dramatic because the land usually stays intact for a period of time until the underground spaces just get too big,” the survey states. “If there is not enough support for the land above the spaces, then a sudden collapse of the land surface can occur.”

In the U.S., the most damage from sinkholes typically occurs in Florida, Texas, Alabama, Missouri, Kentucky, Tennessee and Pennsylvania, according to the USGS.