China: A bus was picking up passengers in Qinghai province when the road surface suddenly collapsed, causing an explosion that killed 6 people.

The video posted on social networks showed the bus had just stopped at a pick-up and drop-off place in Xining City, the capital of Qinghai Province, northwestern China on the afternoon of January 13 when the death pit appeared right below. The bus drove its head down into the hole, while the surrounding people fled.

Several people stood near the bus stop, including a child, who was swept away when the hole opened its mouth. The accident caused an explosion inside a sinkhole when the bus sank. Chinese media today said 6 people were killed, 10 missing, 16 injured were taken to hospital in the incident.

Search and rescue work is underway. Authorities are investigating the cause of the incident.

Death pits are common in China, often due to unsecured construction work and the country's rapid growth.

A section of the subway line in Fujian province suddenly collapsed on the evening of 12/12, causing many cars to fall along.

In 2016, the death pit "swallowed" the road and pedestrians in central Ha Nam province. The cause of the initial investigation was probably due to a broken underground water pipe. Five people died when a 10-meter-wide pit collapsed in front of an industrial park gate in Shenzhen, Guangdong province in 2013.