Construction workers digging an underground rail tunnel were lucky to avoid injury after a sink hole swallowed two buildings in southern China.
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The collapse, in central Guangzhou, the capital of Guandong province, happened late on Monday afternoon after rail workers noticed nearby land was sinking.
The workers raised the alarm and evacuated 300 people who then watched as the first building fell into the hole. A second building toppled in some time later. It is believed the complex contained shops.
The Shanghaiist website reported that "deafening noises" could be heard as the ground continued to sink and crack.
No one was injured and crews working to fix the hole - about 10 metres deep and spanning about 100 square metres, filled it with concrete - Xinhua news agency reported.