Sinkhole swallows school playground in China

Sinking land has developed into a huge 80-metre diameter hole on a school playground in Ningxiang county, Hunan province in southern China.

CCTV broadcast footage showing a sinkhole created in front of a school building, where there used to be a playground.

Cracked and damaged buildings could be seen around the sinkhole.

The land started to yield in January this year and formed a 20-diameter hole and since then the hole has been expanding as the land kept sinking.

The sinking was accelerated during the rain season as intense rainfall loosened the earth, a local official told CCTV.

The official said families living in nearby buildings were evacuated and had received a subsidy of 300 Yuan.