Brandon Florida man swallowed by sinkhole feared dead

[TVMayor]

(CNN) -- A man swallowed by sinkhole under his bedroom in Florida is believed dead, authorities said early Friday, after monitoring equipment found no signs of life.

Florida man swallowed by sinkhole feared dead - CNN.com (http://www.cnn.com/2013/03/01/us/florida-sinkhole/index.html?hpt=hp_t2)

[2BNTV]

How sad. :(

[senior citizen]

Unbelievable........scary. Seffner Florida near Tampa area.

Man missing, brother rescued after giant sinkhole appears under house near Tampa - U.S. News (http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/03/01/17145165-man-missing-brother-rescued-after-giant-sinkhole-appears-under-house-near-tampa?lite)

[janmcn]

Just saw a local news report on the man presumed dead in the sinkhole in Seffner. Authorities have not been able to exhume the body because the house is not safe to enter. The sinkhole is taking up the entire inside of the1200 square foot home. Neighbors have been evacuated, and just now they discovered the hole extends to the middle of the street.

The strange thing about this incident, compared to other sinkholes, is there were no apparent signs of sinkhole activity prior to the collapse. The missing man went to bed about 10:30 pm, the hole opened and swallowed him up. His brother heard him scream for help and tried to rescue him, but had to be rescued himself by the first deputy to arrive.

Hillsborough County officials have been there since last night trying to determine the extent of the damage, while the Red Cross is standing by to relocate more families.


36-year-old man swallowed up in sinkhole in his Seffner home presumed dead (http://www.abcactionnews.com/dpp/news/region_east_hillsborough/brandon/36-year-old-man-trapped-under-rubble-after-a-sinkhole-swallows-the-bedroom-of-his-brandon-home)

[graciegirl]

Just saw a local news report on the man presumed dead in the sinkhole in Seffner. Authorities have not been able to exhume the body because the house is not safe to enter. The sinkhole is taking up the entire inside of the1200 square foot home. Neighbors have been evacuated, and just now they discovered the hole extends to the middle of the street.

The strange thing about this incident, compared to other sinkholes, is there were no apparent signs of sinkhole activity prior to the collapse. The missing man went to bed about 10:30 pm, the hole opened and swallowed him up. His brother heard him scream for help and tried to rescue him, but had to be rescued himself by the first deputy to arrive.

Hillsborough County officials have been there since last night trying to determine the extent of the damage, while the Red Cross is standing by to relocate more families.


36-year-old man swallowed up in sinkhole in his Seffner home presumed dead (http://www.abcactionnews.com/dpp/news/region_east_hillsborough/brandon/36-year-old-man-trapped-under-rubble-after-a-sinkhole-swallows-the-bedroom-of-his-brandon-home)

There isn't any sinkhole damage that can be seen from the outside of the house. It seems like they could tear the roof off and use a big crane to lower someone down to see what has happened. I am sure they know what they are doing but it just seems somehow more could be done.

It is very sad and scary.

[janmcn]

The situation is so precarious and the ground so unstable that the rescuers can't get into the house. Even the technicians you see on TV walking around the yard are tethered to other firemen. They said they will have to demolish part of the house before they can get to the sinkhole.
So far they've been using radar and other devices to try to figure out how widespead the sinkhole is.

[janmcn]

After watching all the local and national coverage of this incident all day, I've learned some things to watch out for regarding sinkholes. Number one, keep an eye out for any cracks developing around your house, both inside and out. Another sign of a sinkhole developing is plants leaning over for no reason. And finally, a sinkhole inspection will cost $3000, according to the local ABC affiliate.

Another thing from TV coverage worth mentioning is the top five counties in FL for the number of sinkholes are Pasco, Hernando, Hillsborough, Marion, and Pinellas, in that order. They didn't mention over what time frame this covered.

[senior citizen]

The situation is so precarious and the ground so unstable that the rescuers can't get into the house. Even the technicians you see on TV walking around the yard are tethered to other firemen. They said they will have to demolish part of the house before they can get to the sinkhole.
So far they've been using radar and other devices to try to figure out how widespead the sinkhole is.

Can you imagine the terror of that man as he was being swallowed up into the sinkhole. It was on all the major news shows this evening.

When we first heard about it this morning, I wondered why they couldn't attempt a rescue effort. Guess I was thinking of how they actually find people alive after earthquakes all over the world........a week later in some cases. However, my husband thinks that it would be basically sand and there would be "no air pockets" for the guy to survive in. Ultimately he would just suffocate????

Hopefully, the sinkholes in TV are NOT that large. Just the day before we finally came to our decision to set a target date to put our home on the market.....a year from this springtime.....as we have other committments this year which take precedence......before we relocate to The Villages.

Hopefully, the victim of the sinkhole didn't suffer too long and that the other families in that neighborhood find some peace of mind, as well as his brother & family.

[janmcn]

From what I understand, they quickly put listening devices down the hole and never heard anything, so a rescue was not going to happen. As the brother of the victim was being pulled out of the hole, the ground around the hole was giving way. The family of the victim was still hoping for a miracle.

[bestmickey]

This incident reminds me of the television series Twilight Zone. It surely is tragic. The fact that the man's bed was basically eaten by the earth was a freakish occurrence.

[mulligan]

It's not just sand in the hole. Some are large caverns full of water.

[janmcn]

Today's newspaper stated that the house had just had a sinkhole inspection last August, and the owner has insurance. It appears it's a waste of money to have a sinkhole inspection. The sinkhole expert did say on TV that an inspection will only show sinkhole activity at that given moment.

Just heard on the local news at noon that the next door neighbor's house is shown to be in danger. The occupants of that house are being allowed in for 20 minutes to collect their personal belongings.

The ground is still too unstable to bring in any heavy equipment to start demolishing the house.

[janmcn]

Just heard on the evening news that the rescue mission is over, and the heavy equipment has arrived to start demolishing the house Sunday morning. The victim's brother said earlier today that he didn't expect his brother's body to ever be recovered.

The two houses on either side have also been evacuated. As I stated earlier, the residents were allowed a minimal amount of time to go in and collect their personal belongings.

There have been differing reports on the size of the hole, some reports have it as deep as 50 feet. Once the house is removed, they should have a better idea of what they are dealing with.

The deputy who arrived first was a true hero. He arrived just in the nick of time to grab hold of the victim's brother and pull him out of the hole as the ground was collapsing around them.