Florida Fire Engine Gets Stuck in Sinkhole

PEMBROKE PINES, Fla. --

Three Pembroke Pines firefighters drove away Thursday night in Engine No. 33, which was back in service after being stuck in an enormous sinkhole.

They were responding to 911 callers who were reporting a water main break in the roadway at the intersection of Pines Boulevard and NW 72nd Avenue.

When they arrived, the roadway was intact. But water bubbling underneath would prove to be a big problem.

"You never know where the road exposed out, that's the problem. You'll never know that," a Pembroke Pines utility worker told Local 10's Janine Stanwood.

The pavement gave way.

"The wheels both sunk into the ground," said Operations Chief Al Diliello with the Pembroke Pines Fire Department.

A tow truck had to pull Engine No. 33 out of the sinkhole. The three firefighters inside were not injured.

Crews worked into the night to find the broken water main and repaired it around 8 p.m. As of late Thursday, they were still tearing up the pavement that had been forced up by the water beneath it.

Utilities crews said they expected the road to be patched back up by Friday.

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