15-Ft Sinkhole Swallows Golfer On Course, Who Is Then Rescued By His Friends

A Golfer was hoping for a hole-in-one when he set out for a day of golf last Friday, but he didn't think he'd end up the one in the hole. St Louis mortgage banker and avid golfer Mark Mihal was with friends at the Annbriar Golf Course near Waterloo when he suddenly disappeared into the turf on the fairway of the 14th hole.

The 43-year-old fell into a bell-shaped enclosure below the green that measured 15 feet deep and 10 feet wide, surprising his golf pals and the course management who said this was the first time anything like this had happened.

'I noticed this anomaly in the fairway and went to have a look but, by the time I took one step, I was gone, I was underground,' Mihal told MailOnline. 'When I went through (the opening) I couldn't see anything, I didn't know how far I was going or what I was going to hit.'

He said he landed on a pile of mud in the cavernous space that could have fit up to 10 people.

The rescue was precarious, Mihal said, as no one knew whether the hole would expand, swallowing more people. The fact he dislocated his shoulder in the fall didn't help either.

'I knew the only way to get out was straight up and I didn't have the use of my left arm,' he said.

His friends called the golf course's pro shop and, armed with a rope and a ladder, general manager Russ Noble rushed to help out.

Local real estate agent, Ed Magaletta, climbed down into the enclosure and tied the rope around his friend's waist so the team could pull him to safety, which they managed to do in just 20 minutes.

Geologist Philip Moss said sinkholes are common in St Louis because the limestone bedrock often dissolves in rainwater creating a cave below the surface.



Source: Daily Mail