Sinkhole swallowed man in Florida home

Officials have given up hope of finding the victim alive, and the hole was filled in with crushed rock.

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March 5, 2013

This aerial photo shows demolition workers picking up the remnants of Jeff Bush’s home in Seffner, Fla. A huge sinkhole opened up under a bedroom in the home last Thursday and swallowed Bush, 37.

Dirk Shadd / AP

March 5, 2013

This aerial photo shows the giant sinkhole at Bush’s home.Although the house’s demolition was completed Monday, crews had not yet finished removing its foundation. After that is done, likely Tuesday, they planned to survey the hole to better understand its dimensions. Hillsborough County spokesman Willie Puz said workers would then “stabilize the hole,” though he remained mum on details of what precisely would be done.

Dirk Shadd / AP

March 4, 2013

Demolition experts watch as an excavator checks the sinkhole at Jeff Bush’s a home in Seffner, Fla., during demolition.

Scott Iskowitz / AP

March 4, 2013

This video image provided by ABC Action News-WFTS TV shows an aerial view of the sinkhole that opened underneath a bedroom and swallowed Bush.

/ AP

March 4, 2013

Jeremy Bush, right, prays before the media as demolition continues at his brother’s home. Jeremy Bush was also in the house the night when the sinkhole opened up, consuming Jeff Bush. Jeremy Bush tried to save his brother, but nearly got swallowed up himself.

Scott Iskowitz / AP

March 4, 2013

Demolition experts watch as the house is leveled. Engineers determined that the sinkhole under the house was up to 60 feet deep and 100 feet wide. They said the house was uninhabitable, and ordered its destruction. Demolition workers were trying to help Bush’s family recover some of their possessions.

Scott Iskowitz / AP

March 4, 2013

Family members watch as the house is leveled. The day’s most solemn moment came at 4 p.m., when demolition stopped and workers joined family members for a brief ceremony. The many flowers and notes that had been left in front of the house were loaded into a tractor’s bucket, which swung slowly toward the sinkhole and dropped the materials into the hole.

Scott Iskowitz / AP

March 3, 2013

A Hillsborough County, Fla., firefighter removes salvaged items, including a family photo, from the home where a sinkhole swallowed Jeffrey Bush in Seffner, Fla. Crews began demolishing the home on Sunday after search personnel failed to find Bush.

Chris O’Meara / AP

March 3, 2013

Hillsborough County firefighters help salvage family belongings from the home, where Jeffrey Bush was swallowed by a sinkhole, during its demolition in Seffner, Fla. Rescue workers ended their efforts on Saturday to recover the body of the man who disappeared into the sinkhole that swallowed his bedroom while he slept.

Scott Audette / Reuters

March 3, 2013

Jeremy Bush, right, is consoled by an unidentified woman as he sits outside a home where a sinkhole opened up underneath a bedroom late Thursday evening, swallowing his brother, Jeffrey Bush, in Seffner, Fla. Crews on Sunday began demolishing the Florida home.

Chris O'Meara / AP

March 3, 2013

Hillsborough County firefighters recover a U.S. flag from the house, where Jeffrey Bush was swallowed by a sinkhole, before its demolition in Seffner, Fla.

Scott Audette / Reuters

March 3, 2013

Demolition experts watch as the home of Jeffrey Bush, 37, is destroyed in Seffner, Fla. The 20-foot-wide opening of the sinkhole was almost covered by the house, and rescuers said there have been no signs of life since the hole opened Thursday night.

Chris O'Meara / AP

March 2, 2013

An engineer, tethered with a safety line, walks in front of the house in Seffner, Fla., where a sinkhole opened up underneath a bedroom late Thursday evening, swallowing Jeffrey Bush and everything else in his room.

Chris O'Meara / AP

March 2, 2013

Hillsborough County firefighters keep a safe distance from the house. Neighboring homes have been evacuated, one of which engineers say is also endangered. Residents of that house will be allowed to go inside for about a half-hour to gather belongings, officials said.

Chris O'Meara / AP

March 2, 2013

Brenda Bush is escorted by a Hillsborough County sheriff’s deputy as she places flowers at a makeshift memorial in front of the house in which her son died. Five other people were in the house but managed to escape unharmed. The victim’s brother jumped into the hole to try to help, but he had to be rescued himself by a sheriff's deputy.

Chris O'Meara / AP

March 2, 2013

Flowers are placed in front of the house in which Jeffrey Bush, 37, died. Bush’s family is hoping that his body can be recovered, but officials don’t want to risk any more lives and won’t let anyone enter the house until the situation is fully assessed.

Chris O'Meara / AP

March 2, 2013

Jeremy Bush places flowers and a stuffed animal at a makeshift memorial in front of the house. He said he heard a loud crash Thursday night and his brother calling out for help. Jeremy Bush rushed into the bedroom to try to save his brother but couldn’t. A sheriff’s deputy had to pull him from the sinkhole as the room continued to collapse around them.

Chris O’Meara / AP

March 1, 2013

A crowd gathers at the home of Jeffrey Bush after he disappeared in a sinkhole in Seffner, Fla.

Edward Linsmier / Getty Images

March 1, 2013

Jeffrey Bush’s cousin Kyle Balcom, left, and brother Dustin Bush react after he was swallowed by a sinkhole while lying in his bed in Seffner, Fla.

Edward Linsmier / Getty Images

March 1, 2013

Rescue and engineering crews watch from a nearby back yard as other crew members work to evaluate the safety of a home where a sinkhole opened up. The neighboring houses were evacuated as well.

Brian Blanco / Reuters

March 1, 2013

Yellow tape surrounds the house.

Brian Blanco / Reuters

March 1, 2013

People gather near the house where Jeffrey Bush disappeared.

Edward Linsmier / Getty Images

March 1, 2013

Engineers work in front of the house trying to determine the size of the sinkhole. At the surface, officials estimated it was about 30 feet across. Below the surface, officials believed it was 100 feet wide.

Chris O'Meara / AP

March 1, 2013

Jeffrey Bush’s family members console one another near the house. Jeremy Bush told rescue crews he heard a loud crash near midnight Thursday, then heard his brother screaming. There’s been no contact with Jeffrey Bush since then, and neighbors on both sides of the house have been evacuated from the area.

Chris O'Meara / AP

March 1, 2013

Jeremy Bush breaks down as he speaks to the media about attempting to rescue his brother, Jeffrey, as he disappeared into the sinkhole. “He was screaming my name. I could swear I heard him hollering my name to help him,” he said of his brother. Jeremy Bush had to be helped out of the sinkhole by a Hillsborough County sheriff’s deputy.

Chris O'Meara / AP

March 1, 2013

Jeffrey Bush disappeared in a sinkhole in Seffner, Fla.

Jeremy Bush / AP

March 1, 2013

Engineers work to determine the size of the sinkhole.

Chris O'Meara / AP

March 1, 2013

From the outside of the small, sky-blue house, nothing appeared wrong. There wear no cracks, and the only sign something was amiss was the yellow caution tape circling the house.

Chris O'Meara / AP

March 1, 2013

Jeffrey Bush’s family members console one another. Jeremy Bush, who was at the home near Tampa, said it took him only seconds to get to his brother’s room about 11 p.m. Thursday. He jumped into the hole and dirt was quickly up to his neck. “The floor was still giving in and the dirt was still going down, but I didn’t care. I wanted to save my brother,” he said. “But I just couldn’t do nothing.”

Chris O'Meara / AP

March 1, 2013

Hillsborough County Fire Chief Ron Rogers speaks to the media in front of the house. Authorities were trying to determine whether the ground around the house could support the weight of heavy machinery needed for the recovery effort.

Chris O'Meara / AP

March 1, 2013

Jeremy Bush’s wife and his 2-year-old daughter were also inside the house. “She keeps asking where her Uncle Jeff is,” he said. “I lost everything. I work so hard to support my wife and kid, and I lost everything.”

Chris O'Meara / AP

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