Florida Man Swallowed By Sinkhole Feared Dead

Jeff Bush was sleeping in his Florida home in Hillsborough County Thursday morning when a sinkhole opened up beneath his bedroom and swallowed him.

Rescue workers are still trying to recover the man's body. There were 5 other people in the house when the sinkhole opened, luckily they all escaped unharmed.

Discovery.com says, "Natural sinkholes occur mostly because of erosion and underground water.  They start developing a long time before the hole appears. Sinkholes can also be man-made. They can happen as a result of drilling, construction, mining or even heavy traffic."

When the sinkhole, which is a common occurrence in Florida, opened up Bush's brother jumped in to try and save him.

"I could not see him at all," Jeremy Bush told Anderson Cooper. "All I could see was the corner of his bed, corner of his box spring and a corner of his bed frame. "I thought I heard him two or three times yelling for help.

"When police arrived on the scene they had to pull Jeremy Bush out of the sinkhole, he was still trying desperately to reach his brother.

Rescue efforts had to be put on hold due to the danger the sinkhole still poses. They resumed early this morning, but searchers must proceed with extreme caution. It is possible that the sinkhole may in fact swallow the entire house.

The county's Fire Chief Ron Rogers told reporters Until we know where it's safe to bring the equipment, we really are just handicapped and paralyzed, and can't really do a whole lot more than sit and wait, It's a tough situation. It's even tougher for the family."

Homes on either side of the Bush house were evacuated incase the sinkhole grew larger.  ABC reports that since 1954 Hillsborough has had reports of more than 500 sinkholes.

The Bush family is holding on to a small hope that Jeff is stuck in an air pocket just waiting to be rescued. But they feel it is more likely they will recover the body of their loved one.

Jeremy Bush told Anderson Cooper, "I'm praying that there's an air pocket in there that he can survive in it. But I can't see nobody surviving that long in a hole like that."