JEDDAH — A car in Jeddah's Al-Kandarah District fell into a hole after the asphalting beneath it dissolved. A witness said the accident was strange because there were no signs of deterioration on the ground except for a few drilling activities that are always happening in the streets. He said: “The asphalting just gave way with the car, leaving an enormous hole reaching to the middle of the street. “The people of the neighborhood are currently living in terror as no one saw it coming. “We contacted tow trucks to haul the car from underground last Wednesday. “We even contacted the municipality but no one showed up before Sunday morning.” He added that residents had to put up notices and closed the hole up with makeshift materials on their own until local authorities dealt with the problem. Head of Public Relations at Jeddah Municipality Mohammad Al-Bugamy said the municipality handled the matter on Sunday evening and is currently investigating. He said: “We found out that a water pipe had burst and caused the asphalting to collapse. “The National Water Company began repairing the area on Tuesday.” A supervisor on the project from the water company said there was a leak in the underground pipes that soaked the asphalting and made it brittle. In turn, it was unable to withstand the weight of the car. He said: “Water leakages can occur sometimes due to low quality pipelines and a lack of sewage system. “The company has recently formed a department for leakage detection in order to prevent pipe bursts. “The department is run by specialized engineers operating with the latest technologies.”
