Huge sinkhole swallows cars and forces families to evacuate homes in Rome

Residents report feeling homes 'tremble' before collapse

Parked cars seen inside a sinkhole that opened in the street in Baldunia, Rome (EPA)

Dozens of families have been evacuated from their homes after a huge sinkhole opened up in Rome, swallowing six cars.

Pictures showed the vehicles lying at the bottom of a 30ft chasm in the Italian capital’s north-west Baldunia neighbourhood.

Parked cars were sucked into the cavernous hole and about 60 people were forced to evacuate their homes when part of a road crumbled.

Construction work had been carried out nearby for months and residents said they had felt their houses shake in the days before the collapse.

One woman told Italian state broadcaster Rai: “In the last days while the workers were working, I felt the floor of the house tremble and we were very worried.”

Her son added: “We residents feared problems... It is a miracle that there are no injuries.”

About 22 families were evacuated by firefighters following the collapse at about 6pm on Wednesday. Police closed the road and ambulances also attended, although no one is thought to have been hurt.

Evacuated residents will be put up in hotels until safety checks on their apartment buildings have been carried out.

The cause of the sinkhole is under investigation. Repairs were carried out in the area late last month after a large water leak, thought to have been caused by the construction work.

The Public Prosecutor's Office reportedly launched an investigation into possible criminal negligence.