A woman was swept away and two men fell into a sinkhole after a water main burst sending a torrent of floodwater through West Hollywood.
The large sinkhole opened along Palm Avenue near Sunset Boulevard after officials said the water may have caused underground erosion.
A witness filming the torrent captured the moment the two men walked along the sidewalk before the concrete beneath them suddenly gave way.
“I was taking video of the water, and I watched two people walk down, right by the tree there, and they just fell right into the hole. All of the concrete just fell right in,” the witness told KTLA.
Video from the scene showed people gathering around the sinkhole moments after the collapse. The men appeared to be fine, but there was no official word on whether anyone had been injured.
Meanwhile, the force of rushing water in West Hollywood temporarily swept away a woman as she tried to reach the sidewalk.
Authorities urged residents to avoid the area while crews worked to determine whether the water main break had caused additional underground damage.
“So, to all the residents of the area, avoid the area of Palm and Sunset,” Los Angeles County Fire Department Capt. Aaron Katon said.
“Give the professionals a few hours to assess the damage here and determine what may have happened before you go out and potentially put yourself at risk.”
Katon said the leaking water main had been shut off, but warned the area could still be hazardous because the extent of the erosion beneath the surface remained unknown.
“The leak is shut off, and that’s great. That’s fantastic progress. There’s a lot more work to do. That doesn’t mean that it’s safe to go out walking down the sidewalk, as we saw, or certainly driving down the street,” he said.
