A car was partially swallowed up by a sinkhole in the Brussels borough of Sint-Jans-Molenbeek on Sunday. The fire service, police, water company Vivaqua and gas network operator Sibelga attended the scene. The residents of two houses had to be evacuated as a precaution.
According to initial findings, the collapse was probably caused by a water leak. No one was injured and no gas leak was detected. The street was closed to traffic.
The residents of two houses were evacuated as a precaution, according to fire service sources. The water and gas supply to both houses was temporarily cut off.
A striking number of road subsidence incidents in Brussels
According to Brussels water company Vivaqua, a dozen road subsidence incidents have already been recorded in the Brussels Region since the beginning of the year.
These incidents can be explained by the poor condition of the sewerage system, combined with financial difficulties the water company is facing, which means it often cannot intervene as quickly as necessary. Of the 1,900 kilometres of sewerage network in Brussels, around 220 kilometres are in urgent need of repair.