A sinkhole that fatally engulfed a Florida man has reopened for a third time.
Hillsborough County officials who were on site Monday afternoon said that the sinkhole — which was about 19 feet wide at its largest point — is no harm to people or property, according to a statement.
The sinkhole, located in Seffner, Fla., about 15 miles east of Tampa, first opened up a decade ago and fatally swallowed 37-year-old Jeff Bush as he slept. His brother jumped into the hole to save him but had to be rescued himself by a sheriff’s deputy. Bush’s body was never recovered by officials.
Five other people escaped unharmed and the site of the now-demolished home was fenced off by officials.
The sinkhole will be filled with the same water-gravel mixture it was filled with when it reopened in 2015, officials said.
Urban sprawl, well-water drilling and fluctuating weather patterns all lead to sinkhole collapses and could bring more of the phenomenon to populated areas, a Florida’s state geologist told USA TODAY in 2013.
Sudden dry-to-wet fluctuations can trigger underground limestone caverns to collapse and create sinkholes, which experts say will become more of a risk in the state as Florida’s population grows.
“As our footprint on the land increases, the likelihood we’ll encounter sinkholes will increase,” Jonathan Arthur said at the time. “The activity we engage in that affects the subsurface land and water can trigger sinkholes as well.”
Contributing: Dinah Pulver, Associated Press
USA TODAY
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