Police say at least 14 vehicles were swallowed by a sinkhole that opened up Saturday in the parking lot of a newly-opened International House of Pancakes in Meridian, Miss.
Customers inside the restaurant at the time of the incident told WTOK they heard a series of booms before the electricity went out.
Patrol Lieutenant Rita Jack with the Meridian Police told NBC News officers "received a call of vehicles going through the pavement," and that upon arrival, officers observed 14 to 15 vehicles that had fallen 30 feet into the ground.
"We expect that there may be more and that they may fall further into the ground because there is only mud underneath," Jack said.
No injuries were sustained in the incident, and police are observing the roped-off hole, which Jack described as the size of "a football field cut in half."
The IHOP where the incident occurred had reportedly opened for business earlier in the week. Witnesses say a water line was severed when the hole opened, leaving nearby hotels without water.
Meridian Fire Department Chief Battalion Wayne Cook told WKOT the investigation into what caused the sinkhole began Sunday.
Copyright 2015 United Press International, Inc. (UPI). Any reproduction, republication, redistribution and/or modification of any UPI content is expressly prohibited without UPI's prior written consent.
----
This content is published through a licensing agreement with Acquire Media using its NewsEdge technology.