Man falls into rat-filled hole after sidewalk collapsed

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A man has been hospitalized after a sidewalk in New York suddenly collapsed, swallowing him into a hole infested with rats.

Leonard Shoulders was caught by security cameras waiting at a Bronx bus stop when a sinkhole suddenly opened directly under him, as per CBS New York on Oct. 26.

He was stuck for around 30 minutes inside the hole, which was estimated to be around 12 to 15 feet deep, before he was rescued by first responders.

Shoulders reportedly suffered from head and arm injuries. His brother Greg White told the news outlet that he was recovering although he was “deeply traumatized” by the ordeal.

“Rats crawling on him, he can’t move… He didn’t want to yell because he was afraid [rats will go inside his mouth]… He was just there,” White said in the interview.

New York’s Department of Buildings (DOB) noted that the portion of the sidewalk had been in disrepair, causing its collapse. It was reportedly above a building’s cellar.

A DOB inspector has since issued an order to vacate the said building, while the building owner was ordered to build a fence around the sidewalk. Maintaining the sidewalk is the property owner’s responsibility, the report said. Ian Biong /ra

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