By CraneLinda Young - AHN Editor
Jersey City, NJ (AHN) - A firetruck responding to a call about leaking water fell into a sinkhole in the street Sunday and was stuck there for hours until a crane pulled it out.
The 33-ton truck was swallowed by a sinkhole that was created after water leaking from a nearby house eroded the earth from under the roadway.
Firefighters were responding to a call about a water leak in the basement of a home when the street suddenly collapsed under their rear wheels, trapping the vehicle at 8:40 a.m. in a growing sinkhole. The crew was able to jump off the truck to safety.
Tow trucks were unable to pull the fire truck out. At about 7:30 p.m. a crane was finally able to hoist the fire truck out of the hole that had grown to about 60 feet in size.
Water trucks were brought in to supply residents with water until the water main can be prepared. About 125 homes were affected.
