Second 10-foot-wide sinkhole opens up in Florida next door to home where car was swallowed

A second sinkhole has opened in Pasco, Florida next door to the home where a car was swallowed after a 10-foot-wide crater opened in the ground on Monday.

Geologists have been called in to survey the hole which initially opened at a width of five-feet, but by mid-afternoon on Tuesday had expanded to the same size as the first depression. One resident has been evacuated bringing the total number of homes evacuated to seven after the first sinkhole developed outside the mobile home park and swallowed a black Hyundai.

The first hole was barely 4ft wide by 4ft deep when fire crews arrived at the mobile home in Holiday, Florida, at around 10.45am on Monday - but by 11 am it had grown to 10ft by 10ft.The family living at 1728 Torch St, where the hole opened up, have been told their house will be condemned - while five neighboring families were also evacuated.

The Red Cross was called to provide temporary shelter for the residents while experts assess the damage to their houses.

Heather Furlani, who arrived in Florida just last week with her husband and dog Coco, told WFLA she was given just minutes to leave. She said: 'I ran in and grabbed my purse and here I am. That's all I got - and my dog.' Because the hole is on private property it will be up to the home insurance company to fill in the hole and repair the building, according to a Pasco County Spokesman.

Yesterday afternoon the five families were told it was safe to return home, but many said they would spend the night in a hostel for fear of going back.

Larry Pickering, a property agent who lives nearby, speculated that construction works could be the reason the hole opened up.

Authorities are investigating the cause, and say it is too early to rule anything out.