Sinkhole Swallows and Kills Motorcyclist After Freak Accident in South Korea

New fear unlocked.

Photo by: CNBC

By: Robbie Bacon

Mar 30, 2025 at 11:49am ET

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As motorcyclists, we must be more vigilant than most other road users. Not only are we far more vulnerable if something goes wrong, but it's a lot easier for disaster to strike if we're paying full attention; a pothole that might just crack an SUV's rim could end a motorcyclist's life. And now we have a new danger to live in fear of: sinkholes.

If you're already stressed out about being swallowed by a sinkhole while riding, then you're more on the ball than me because I wasn't until I found out about a motorcyclist who died after he fell into a sinkhole in Soul, South Korea.

The man, who was in his 30s, fell into a sinkhole that was around 65 feet deep and 65 feet wide one day after it opened up. He was found in a state of cardiac arrest at around noon on Tuesday, although the incident happened at around 6:30 pm the previous day.

There was a large search and rescue conducted to find the man, but unfortunately, the circumstances made the operation extremely difficult. After an overnight search, which ultimately lasted for 17 hours, the man's body was discovered around 160 feet below the center of the sinkhole. Water and soil mixed together and also pulled in heavy from a nearby construction site, making a bad situation even worse.

According to an official from the fire station, "It was only after draining the area and deploying heavy equipment to remove the soil that we were able to locate the man,”

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Unfortunately, there isn't much we can do to avoid riding into an opening sinkhole except to be aware that they can be more likely to open up after heavy rainfall. Although there's no database in the US to record sinkholes, they're most prominent in Florida, Texas, Alabama, Missouri, Kentucky, Tennesee, and Pennsylvania.

Have you ever come across a sinkhole while riding? Let us know in the comments.