That’s precisely what happened to a teenage girl in Xi’an, northern China who had a remarkable escape when, while walking by a road, she suddenly vanished through the pavement.
The moment the ground caved in under the unsuspecting teen’s weight was captured on surveillance camera and has been shared across the world.
Amateur footage then captures the moment passing taxi driver Wang Wei, leapt out of his car to dramatically rescue the girl who fell six metres underground.
Wang clung onto a cable to reach her at the bottom of the pit.
“I called out to her but she didn’t respond. After I shook her a little, she came to,” he said.
“”The dirt kept showering down on us and the kid couldn’t stop crying,” he added.
It has emerged underground water had eroded the ground under the road, causing a cavity under the pavement.
The ground in the pit continued to shift as the cab driver and girl struggled to climb out.
Firefighters then came to the scene to rescue them.
“The ladder kept moving about, it’s a little flimsy and the girl kept screaming out of fear. So I told her to go first and I’ll be right behind her. Finally we managed to get out,” Wang said.
By the time they had emerged, a crowd of passers by had gathered around with their mobile phones trained on the pair, recording the happy ending.
That was close!
