Imagine the horror, the fear, wondering if you and your child will get out alive or suffer a watery death. .On Monday night in a monsoon-size rainstorm, a mother with her daughter was driving her car on a major road in the Chatsworth region, northwest of downtown Los Angeles.. LA sinkholeLA sinkhole .Suddenly, the car was swallowed by a sinkhole, which continued to grow and shift. .The car rolled on its side as it tumbled into the hole and then, making matters worse as water flowed into the hole, a pickup truck fell into the sinkhole, landing on top of the car, trapping the mother and daughter..California has been hit with historic rainfall and flooding, leaving many scrambling for higher ground and attempting to weather the storms, reports KCAL-TV, Los Angeles, which also reported the sinkhole accident..The passengers in the truck were able to get to safety, but the mother and daughter in the car below were unable to free themselves..The Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD) was alerted and about 50 firefighters arrived on the scene..Later the LAFD issued a news release that read, in part: “Firefighters arrived to find a large sinkhole and two vehicles (one on top of the other) inside, approximately 15-ft below ground level. They located two people still trapped in the bottom vehicle.” .“The initial rescue attempt involved bringing ground ladders and laying them down to span the hole so crews could try to reach the victims, but this was not successful.”.“Meanwhile, the road continued to slough and although firefighters tried to stabilize the vehicle, it was shifting and starting to roll within the sink hole. With the entire road compromised, firefighters had to make an immediate rescue to save the lives of the two people trapped inside the vehicle.”.“With their car fully submerged in a large, growing sinkhole, firefighters executed an immediate, life-saving rescue.”.As KCAL reported, the crews tried to stabilize the car, which was continuing to roll as the ground deteriorated more and they were able to use a high-angle rope rescue to extract both passengers.."Using the aerial ladder to position the rescuers over the hole, a high-angle rope rescue operation was used to lower a firefighter down so they could secure the victim with a harness and then be raised back up to the surface while the ladder rotated around to safe ground," the LAFD said in the release.."Crews executed this operation smoothly and safely rescued both patients.".The rescue operation took about an hour and after the successful rescue, the mother and daughter were taken to the hospital with only minor injuries..A warning was issued the sinkhole would only expand, which was borne out the next day as it grew to more than 30 feet wide and 40 feet deep, according to KABC-TV. A pipeline that ran through the same area started to leak sewage into the hole as well..By Tuesday night, the wrecked remains of the cars were removed from the hole by an excavator, but it will be some time before the area is safe again.."The road will remain closed for an undetermined period while the appropriate city agencies evaluate it and determine the repairs required," the Los Angeles Fire Department said.
