Drama during cat search

Suddenly deep hole in the ground – grandma missing

An American woman sank into a deep hole while searching for her cat and has been missing ever since.(Bild: Pennsylvania State Police)

An intensive search operation is underway in the US state of Pennsylvania for a 64-year-old woman who may have fallen into a hole in the ground that suddenly opened up. According to the authorities, the woman had set out on Monday afternoon to look for her lost cat. When she did not return until late at night, her family alerted the police. 

On Tuesday night, emergency services discovered the woman's vehicle behind a restaurant. They found her five-year-old granddaughter in the car, who was unharmed.

The search operation is in full swing(Bild: AP)

Hole in the ground probably the entrance to an old mining shaft
During the further search in the vicinity of the vehicle, the officers then came across the hole in the ground, which was about the size of a manhole cover. It was probably the entrance to an old mining shaft - a legacy of the intensive coal mining that has left its mark on Pennsylvania's landscape and history.

(Bild: AP)

Ten meter deep hole
The hole is said to be around ten meters deep and extends below the surface. It is believed to have been created after the woman began her search for the cat.

However, the conditions in the shaft are relatively stable: the oxygen content is sufficient and the temperatures are higher than on the surface, according to the report. The rescue teams are also using cameras in their search. One of the images may show a shoe.