A sinkhole that swallowed a man 10 years ago has reopened for a third time.
Jeff Bush, 37, was sleeping in his bedroom when the earth opened up and devoured part of his house, killing him in the process. Five people managed to escape the property unharmed in 2013.
Jeff’s brother Jeremy attempted to dig him out, but was unsuccesful. His body has never been found.
The sinkhole, which is now behind a fence, is located in the Tampa suburb of Seffner. It opened up again on Monday, for the third time since 2013.
Hillsborough County officials say it is not unusual for underground formations like sinkholes to appear in the area, particularly because of Florida’s porous limestone base. The officials said the hole is around 19ft at its widest.
John-Paul Lavandeira told Fox News: “This is not uncommon what we’re seeing out here with reoccurrences. It’s actually the preferred way of doing it. The way we handled it the first time. The way we filled it. That way when there’s a reoccurrence it’s in a controlled area like you see behind me with the double fences so we can kind of control the situation
This is something that is out of all of our control,” he said. “This is a Mother Nature thing. This isn’t a man-made scenario, but we do have a plan in place. We have the right experts in place. This is under control. There is a reason why there are double fences where this thing is.”
Jeremy Bush says he has never stopped thinking about his brother.
Speaking to WTSP-TV, he said: “There’s not a day goes by I don’t think about my brother. This is the only place I’ve got to visit him.”
The sinkhole previously reopened in 2015 and was remediated by the county, officials said. The area around the sinkhole has since been fenced to keep people away from the unstable ground.
