Usually when people think about IHOP and the word “swallow,” it’s because they’re hungry for some mouth-watering pancakes. For a group of Saturday night diners at the one in Meridian, Mississippi, however, the ground itself opened up and devoured over a dozen cars into a gigantic sinkhole. CBS reported that at about 7:15 P.M., the patrons felt what they thought was an earthquake, prompting them to run out and find a massive expanse that took in a section of the parking lot. No one was hurt, but when local patrolmen arrived, they determined that at least 14 vehicles were taken by the cave-in. “When we arrived on scene, 14 to 15 vehicles that we could see had fallen roughly 30 feet into the ground,” said Patrol Lieutenant Rita Jack. “We expect that there may be more and that they may fall further into the ground because there is only mud underneath.”
The hole was estimated to be 35 feet wide and 400 feet long, with the parking lot section being trapped in a 20-foot-deep hole. Public Safety Director Buck Roberts said that engineers and contractors would arrive tomorrow to observe the site and start working to remove the cars.
