A man died in front of his friends after the pool he was in drained within seconds when a sinkhole opened up underneath.
The victim, who has not been named, was swept down with the water when he fell into the chasm below in Karmei Yosef, Israel, yesterday.
Another man, 34, had a narrow escape and was treated by paramedics at the scene for injuries to his lower body.
Footage from the scene shows swimmers – who were part of a private work party – clinging to the sides of the pool as the sinkhole swallowed everything, including inflatables.
A woman who saw the hole starting to appear tried to convince her friends to leave the pool. But it was too late.
He told the Ynet news website: “Seconds later, the ground just fell… I saw two people disappear.”
Another witness told Israel’s Channel 12: “The water level suddenly began to recede and a hole opened, creating a vortex that swept two people inside.”
The moment a pool sink hole opens in Karmei Yosef, Israel (Image: Kann News) One man died after being sucked underground during a private pool party (Israel Fire & Rescue/ Facebook ) A second man survived after being pulled himself from the sinkhole (Israel Police)
The search team spent four hours searching for the man’s body and used Go-Pro cameras on their helmets to help them.
Rescuers had to be careful and build a support structure to prevent a second collapse.
Paramedic Uri Damari told The Jerusalem Post: “When I got to the scene I saw a pit that had opened at the bottom of the empty pool.
“People who were at the scene told me that the pit suddenly opened and within seconds all the water in the pool was drawn in.”
Police have launched an investigation into the death.
A helicopter was used to search for other possible sinkholes in the area.
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