Nearly 400 villagers in southern China were forced to evacuate after a sinkhole opened up, causing one building to collapse and threatening up to 72 others, state media reported.
The cave-in on Friday afternoon left a three-metre-wide hole in the ground in the southern city of Guangzhou, Xinhua news agency said.
However, it has affected at total of 5,000 square metres of land in Xiamao village, it added.
The report said an initial investigation has found the sinkage was caused by pilings being driven into the earth for a real estate project, which weakened a subterranean limestone cave.
However, it added that an investigation was continuing.
No casualties had been reported as the damage occurred gradually, giving people time to evacuate, it added.
A total of 381 people were evacuated, Xinhua said.
One building collapsed, 11 were "cracked", and 61 others were being monitored for possible safety problems, it said.
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