ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — A "large fracture" opened up in the ground between two ponds at a Central Florida work site overnight, swallowing several large construction vehicles.
- Construction vehicles fall into water-filled "large fracture"
- Officials haven't determined whether it's an actual sinkhole
- Incident occurred on private property; no injuries reported
- ELSEWHERE:
Orange County Sheriff's deputies were called out to the Accu Crete facility at 11762 Boggy Creek Road, near Orlando International Airport, just before 1 a.m., where they found "numerous large construction vehicles" that had fallen into a hole, they said.
No injuries have been reported.
According to Orange County Fire Rescue, three dump trucks, one pickup truck, and two box trucks fell into a stormwater pond after a parts of a nearby roadway collapsed. Several canisters also fell in.
As of late Wednesday morning, officials hadn't determined whether the hole is an actual sinkhole or a depression caused by something else.
Officials with the state Department of Environmental Protection said the pond that the vehicles entered is a manmade pond. They said that there's no threat to natural surface waters.
After the officials determine that the site has finished settling, they'll approve cleanup and recovery of the vehicles and canisters.
Civil engineer Julian Coto, who works for the truck yard, said he doesn't think it's a sinkhole.
“This area isn’t prone to sinkholes, so we are going to do some geological testing and determine what exactly is going on and how to put it back together again and fix it," Coto said.
He said he thinks the fracture was caused by water erosion washed out by nearby construction
Several of the vehicles on the property are owned by private drivers, who came by this morning to check on their vehicles.
The @FLDEPNews is now on hand in South Orange County to determine cause of the hole created that now has 7 trucks in it. @MyNews13 pic.twitter.com/OqSOS1JOw4
— Spectrum News Asher Wildman (@AsherWildman13) July 3, 2019
"One truck, I don’t see nothing," said Norberto Rodriquez, who said he lost at least a couple of vehicles. "The other truck, full covered by the water. Other truck too. It's my life, it's my work."
Truck drivers say they're building a new apartment complex at the site.
Homebuilder Taylor Morrison said representatives were also at the site today along with engineering consultants, to assess the situation and said they hoped to have more information in the next week.
"We’re confident the development work on our property is in compliance with all of our applicable development permits," the company said in a released statement.
For now, there are other trucks at the back of the lot and can’t get out. The owner of the property said they're trying to create a way for them to exit through the back of the property.
DEP officials arrived at the scene Wednesday afternoon and will determine the cause of the fracture and whether it was actually a sinkhole.