Giant pothole 'swallows' municipal bus in Port Elizabeth

A municipal bus got stuck in a huge pothole in Port Elizabeth on Wednesday morning.

Democratic Alliance councillor in the Lorraine area, Gustav Rautenbach, said there had been a burst water pipe in the area. The tar road may have been weakened by water seeping into the asphalt and the underlying layer.

"Because the bus is heavy, it fell in. Or if there was already a pothole, the bus driver might have not seen it because if it's flooded with water you will struggle to see it," he said.

A private breakdown service towed the bus out of the hole. No one was injured.

"When they pulled him out of the hole, it seemed like the bus drove on its own. It was not like the bus suffered major damages," said Rautenbach.  

Officials from the department of water were still on the scene on Wednesday afternoon, fixing the burst pipe. The hole is expected to be filled later in the day.