20-meter wide sinkhole in Seoul swallows motorcyclist, rider found hours later

A massive 20-metre-wide sinkhole suddenly opened up on a road in Seoul on Monday (24 March), swallowing a motorcyclist and his vehicle.

According to authorities, the sinkhole appeared at 6.29pm near an elementary school in Gangdong Ward, an eastern district of the city.

The motorcyclist, a man in his 30s, was found the next day (25 March) in a state of cardiac arrest.

A passing driver, who had travelled through the area moments before the collapse, also sustained injuries and was hospitalised, Yonhap News Agency reported.

Motorcyclist found 50 metres away from sinkhole

Rescue teams launched an intensive overnight search, eventually locating a mobile phone in the sinkhole at around 1.37am, which they believed belonged to the missing rider.

His motorcycle was then discovered about two hours later, 30 metres from the collapse site.