Mail truck freed after falling into sinkhole on Delaware street

A United States Postal Service truck was almost swallowed by a sinkhole that opened up on a Delaware street, prompting local officials to evacuate residents.

Firefighters in Wilmington responded to a report of a vehicle — a USPS mail truck — that became partially trapped in a sinkhole around 11:30 a.m. on Wednesday, the Delaware News Journal reported.

Wilmington Fire Department Battalion Chief Robert Pryor told the paper the fissure formed as a result of a pressurized water leak from a large water main inside the hole.

Wilmington Fire received a call about the sinkhole around 11:30 a.m. on Wednedsay. Facebook/Wilmington Fire

10 homes were evacuated on the block. Facebook/Wilmington Fire

Fire officials said the sinkhole was caused by a water main leak. Facebook/Wilmington Fire

The main was still leaking and the hole was growing “rapidly” when firefighters arrived, Pryor said. The hole measured about 10-feet by 15-feet and was roughly 10-feet deep.

“We immediately evacuated about 10 houses on both sides of the street,” Pryor said. Several nearby roads were also temporarily blocked off and vehicles moved.

Fortunately, no structural damage was found in any of the homes.

The water department shut down water service to the block and will remain off until the leak is repaired.

Once the mail truck was removed, the gaping hole spread about halfway across the street. A metal construction plate covered the other half, photos show.