It was a scary sight in Guangzhou’s Liwan District after a piece of land suddenly collapsed near a metro construction site, sucking in five buildings with it.

The cave-in happened yesterday afternoon along Kangwang Road, obviously startling nearby residents.  Shanghaiist has some details:

Five shops fell into the hole, and one building was torn apart from top to bottom. The collapse caused electric cables to malfunction, resulting in power cut in 3,000 residential units nearby. No casualties have been announced so far.

Police have blocked the site and evacuated all residents in neighbouring buildings. Frightened residents have been sent to a local community centre. Gas could be smelt from over 30 metres away, and deafening noises could be heard as the land continued to crack and sink.

The hole is 9 metres deep.

Roads collapsing and exploding seem to be happening with frightening frequency of late. In one recent case, a road exploded in Guangxi, and in another a sewage drain exploded while a woman was standing next to it in Beijing.