Toronto Man Saved from Sinkhole After Fall
First responders have rescued a man who had fallen into a sinkhole in Toronto’s Yorkville neighbourhood.
The incident happened around 10:45 p.m. on Dec. 20 in the Davenport Road and Bay Street area, Laurie McCann, spokesperson for the Toronto Police Service, told The Epoch Times in an email.
Police, Toronto firefighters, and paramedics all responded to the call, McCann said.
A spokesperson for Toronto Fire Services said in a phone interview that the man had been walking in a laneway when he fell into the one-metre hole. He then became trapped up to his knees in debris that was in the hole. However, his waist was still above ground.
Fire crews at the scene were able to dig into the hole and free the man.
McCann said the man was not injured in the fall or rescue but was left in the care of Emergency Medical Services and was not transported to hospital.
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It’s not clear why the hole was there but officials said there has been some construction in the area.
Emergency Rescues
Emergency crews have had to rescue Torontonians on a number of other occasions this year.
Sinkholes have also caused headaches for residents of the city over the past several months, with the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) announcing an alternative route for one of its St. Clair routes.
It said that shuttle buses were running between St. Clair, Oakwood and St. Clair subway station. In a subsequent post, the TTC identified the sinkhole as being between Avenue Road and Yonge Street.
US Sinkhole Tragedy
The Toronto sinkhole rescue follows a tragic report in the United States where a 64-year-old woman in Pennsylvania fell into a sinkhole and died.
The woman, Elizabeth Pollard, had been searching for her cat when she fell about nine metres into a sinkhole, officials said. It formed above the remains of a coal mine that had closed about 70 years ago.
Her body was found about four days after her fall.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
