The Associated Press
Family photo of Jeff Bush
SEFFNER, Florida (AP) -- A huge sinkhole about 30-feet across opened up under a man's bedroom and swallowed him, taking all of the furniture too.
UPDATE: Second suspected sinkhole opens up in Seffner
Jeff Bush was feared dead after the floor gave way Thursday night. As
he screamed for help, his brother Jeremy Bush jumped into the hole to
try to help, but couldn't see him and had to be rescued himself. With
the earth still crumbling, a sheriff's deputy reached out his hand and
pulled Jeremy Bush to safety.
UPDATE: Man tells tale of rushing to save brother from sinkhole
"The floor was still giving in and the dirt was still going down, but
I didn't care. I wanted to save my brother," he said. "But I just
couldn't do nothing."
SINKHOLE DATABASE: Look up your county
The only thing sticking out of the hole was a small corner of a bed's
box spring. Cables from a television led down into the hole, but the TV
set, along with a dresser, was nowhere to be seen.
Officials lowered equipment into the sinkhole but didn't see any sign of life.
Jeremy Bush said it took him only seconds to get to his brother's
room about 11 p.m. Thursday. He had just knocked on his brother's
bedroom door, telling him they weren't working Friday. The brothers were
employed by the Transportation Department and picked up trash along
interstates and roads.
See Also: What it looks like underground in Florida
"I went in my bedroom, heard a loud crash, ran in that direction," he
said. "I was getting ready to run into the room and I almost fell into
the hole. I jumped into the hole and started digging for me. I started
screaming for him."
Engineers worked to determine the size of the sinkhole. At the
surface, officials estimated it was about 30 feet across. Below the
surface, officials believed it was 100 feet wide.
WATCH: Latest press conference on the sinkhole
From the outside of the small, sky blue house, nothing appeared
wrong. There wear no cracks and the only sign something was amiss was
the yellow caution tape circling the house.
There were six people at the home when it collapsed, including Jeremy Bush's wife and his 2-year-old daughter.
"It was something you would see in a movie. You wouldn't, in your
wildest dreams, you wouldn't think anything like that could happen,
especially here," he said.
Hillsborough County Sheriff's Deputy Douglas Duvall rescued Jeremy Bush.
"I reached down and was able to actually able to get him by his hand
and pull him out of the hole. The hole was collapsing. At that time, we
left the house," Duvall said.
Sheriff's office spokesman Larry McKinnon said authorities asked
sinkhole and engineering experts to help with the recovery effort, and
they were using equipment to see if the ground can support the weight of
heavy machinery that was needed.
"We put engineering equipment into the sinkhole and didn't see
anything compatible with life," Hillsborough County Fire Rescue
spokeswoman Jessica Damico said. "The entire house is on the sinkhole."
Neighbors on both sides of the home have been evacuated.
See Also: Florida Sinkhole map provided by the Department of Environmental Protection and the Florida Geological Survey (PDF)
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