About 20-meter-wide sinkhole swallows motorcyclist in Seoul

Firefighters prepare to conduct rescue operations at a sinkhole on a road in southeastern Seoul, Monday. Yonhap

A motorcyclist fell into a 20-meter-wide sinkhole that appeared in the middle of a road in Seoul on Monday, authorities said, with rescue efforts under way.

The sinkhole opened near an elementary school in southeastern Seoul's Gangdong District at 6:29 p.m., according to authorities.

Officials are currently conducting operations to rescue the motorcyclist.

A car driver who was passing down the road just before the collapse was also injured and sent to a hospital.

Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon called for safety measures to prevent further casualties, noting that the sinkhole, affecting four of the six lanes on the road, is getting bigger. (Yonhap)