Portions of a Florida resort were destroyed Sunday when a 60-foot-wide sinkhole formed below two buildings, collapsing one and sinking the other, reports. All guests inside the buildings—about 35 people—were extracted before the first building collapsed.
Guests at the resort in Clermont, about 10 minutes away from Walt Disney World, called for help, saying they heard loud noises and noticed windows cracking. With security personnel convinced of the danger, the evacuation started at 10:30 p.m., and continued as a 15-foot crater enveloped much of one building.
No injuries were reported, but many guests were forced to make rapid escapes from the building. Trapped because of a collapsed door frame, one couple and their infant escaped through a window. And another woman was forced to flee in nothing but her shorts after the tub she was bathing in “levitated.”
Sinkholes are a common occurrence in Florida. In February, a 36-year-old man was swallowed by a sinkhole that opened beneath his Tampa home. His body was never recovered.