Truck-size sinkhole appears on Saigon street

The hole of three meters wide, five meters long and eight meters deep appeared on Monday night at the Phan Van Tri and Le Thi Hong street corner, exposing a system of pipes and telecommunication cables.

"Two days ago, the street surface had cracked and subsided. I placed markers around the area to prevent vehicles from falling in," said Phan Van Binh, a local gas station attendant.

On Tuesday morning, around a dozen workers and two cranes were dispatched to the site.

According to HCMC Technical Infrastructure Management Center under the city's Department of Construction, a drainage pipeline that had been in service for 45 years had burst, with water eroding soil and rocks above, causing subsidence and eventually, the sinkhole.

A sinkhole the size of a truck in HCMC's Go Vap District, November 3, 2020. Photo by VnExpress/Dinh Van.

It is reported the broken pipeline would be replaced within Tuesday and that the center is seeking for funds to replace the entire system of 150 m along Phan Van Tri Street.

Three months ago, a sinkhole as big as a seven-seater vehicle appeared at another street corner along Phan Van Tri following the biggest rain spell of the year in HCMC.

Back then, HCMC Urban Drainage Co. Ltd confirmed a degraded drainage pipe, damaged during the downpour, had caused pressure to build up, and the street section to collapse.

HCMC has been threatened by sinkholes for more than a decade and has yet to draw up a viable solution to the issue.

To date, no fatalities have been recorded though injuries occurred after several vehicles tumbled into gaping holes in the road.

In most cases, downgraded drainage pipelines, low quality road construction, and the overexploitation of underground water have been listed as reasons behind the dilemma.