Passengers of car had lucky escape from chasm.

A massive sinkhole opened up on a street in the southern Italian city of Naples early on Wednesday, swallowing two cars, one of which was in transit at the time.

The two passengers of the car emerged from the crater with only minor injuries, assisted by army soldiers stationed in the area, in what is being described as a miraculous escape.

A parked car also plunged into the sinkhole which opened up at around 05.00 in the city's Vomero neighbourhood, state broadcaster RAI reports.

Una #voragine in strada inghiotte due auto al #Vomero a #Napoli https://t.co/coeF2cm175 pic.twitter.com/AXkcLlnnSW— Tg La7 (@TgLa7) February 21, 2024

The sinkhole, believed to have been caused by the collapse of a sewer and underground water pipe, led to the evacuation of a nearby building and the closure of three schools in the area.

Naples mayor Gaetano Manfredi blamed the incident on lack of maintenance "for many years" on the city's sewer system and stressed that a project to provide "continuous monitoring" of the underground network of sewers and water pipes was being implemented.

Photo Vigili del Fuoco