New York Man Swallowed By Sinkhole, But That Wasn’t The Worst Part

You may associate sinkholes more with places down south like Florida, but they can happen anywhere. In fact, urban areas are notorious for "man made" sinkholes, which are often caused by water main breaks, or when old, dilapidated pipes fall apart. One New York man survived a terrifying encounter with a sinkhole on a sidewalk, but it's what he told NBC NY what he saw below the surface that has him quite shaken. Yikes.

NBC says the incident happened Saturday when the man was waiting for a bus on 3rd Avenue in the Bronx. There is surveillance footage above from CBS, that shows the helpless man suddenly fall, as the sidewalk below him gives way. It is not exactly certain how far he fell, though some estimate he went down between 12 to 15 feet. But it's what's lurking below New York City underground that has this poor man so freaked out.

The man's mother told NBC:

He was like, 'Ma, the rats down there were ridiculous.' He was like, 'they were like so big.' He was scared to yell out because he thought they were gonna go in his mouth.

Nightmare fuel. Luckily, the man survived. NBC says that police and firefighters were able to pull him out after half an hour. The man was hospitalized with undisclosed injuries.

Of course, rats have always been a problem in New York and other big cities, but a pandemic could be making them even bigger and more aggressive. Many restaurants and businesses are still shut down, causing the rats to search elsewhere for food. A recent survey from Orkin ranked the most rat-infested cities to live, and New York City came in third, behind Chicago and Los Angeles.

A few other New York state cities and towns made the list as well.