Car & trees swallowed up in yet another Italian sinkhole (VIDEO)
A huge 7ft-deep sinkhole swallowed a car and two trees in Afragola, a town outside Naples, making it the third major sinkhole to hit Italy in the last year.
Nobody was injured in the incident which took place at around 3 a.m. Monday morning, according to local reports, but residents had their water supply cut off while workers repaired the damaged underground water pipes.
There are two theories as to what caused the chasm. Local mayor Domenico Tuccillo said the collapse may have been the result of a broken sewer pipe due to heavy rain in recent days.
Another hypothesis is that the sinkhole is the result of a crumbling underground tunnel which connects a nearby church to a local castle, according to Napoli Today.
READ MORE: Monstrous sinkhole swallows car in Sicily moments after parking (VIDEO)
Either way, sinkholes in Italy have become increasingly common.
In October 2015, an enormous sinkhole in Sicily swallowed a car just seconds after the driver had parked it. At the time the incident was attributed to heavy rain.
A massive 32ft-wide sinkhole hit another town in Naples, Pianura, in February 2015. Bad weather and a burst water pipe were also blamed for this instance which forced 380 people to be evacuated from their homes.
