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If you felt ‘down in the dumps’ this Monday, at least know that you’re not the only one.

Onlookers watched in shock yesterday as a rubbish truck was pulled into the earth by an enormous sinkhole in Lavender Hill area. The incident seemingly came out of nowhere, with no visible signs of damage to the road prior to the incident.

Emergency services were dispatched promptly after a call was received around 09:00 and a woman who sustained minor injuries during the accident was taken to the hospital.

The bizarre ordeal was caught on camera, and local residents can be heard in the background of the clip commenting on the “petrol” pouring out of the tipped-over refuse vehicle.

It’s not surprising that the ‘trash-crash’ drew a crowd of confused residents to the scene, gasping in their PJs at the large hole that had opened up in their backyards, while waiting for government services to arrive.

The City of Cape Town initiated a coordinated effort to recover the truck from the sinkhole, using a large tow truck to aid in the retrieval process. The affected site has been cordoned off to prevent further accidents, as City workers figure out how such a large pit opened up in a small space of time.

Zahid Badroodien, the Mayoral Council member for water and sanitation, highlighted the importance of prioritising the structural integrity of the area, especially considering the risks for future incident:

“The necessary assessment of the area can be done to determine the cause of the incident, among which is a sewer collapse.”

Residents were urged to avoid the site for safety reasons throughout the recovery and assessment process. Despite the disruption, the City of Cape Town assured residents that contingency measures were in place to minimise any potential delays in refuse collection in the affected area.

If load shedding isn’t enough to keep us on our toes, now parts of the ground could fall away at any moment. The week can only go up from here!

[source:news24]