Two people have been arrested in Israel after a man died in a swimming pool sinkhole.
The man, named in Israeli reports as 32-year-old Klil Kimhi, was in the pool when the sinkhole opened up and he was sucked into the 13-meter-deep cavity.
He was at the villa in the town of Karmei Yosef, about 40 km west of Jerusalem, to attend a party with his colleagues from the marketing company.
It took rescuers four hours to reach him – they had to work carefully as it was feared more sinkholes might appear – but he was already dead.
Police said on Friday a man and a woman in their 60s were suspected of causing the death through negligence.
They appeared in court and were released under “restrictive house arrest conditions” for five days.
Witnesses told Israeli media that there were nearly 50 people at the party and six were in the pool.
There were also allegations that the villa owners had built the pool without the proper permits.
Video from the scene showed pool water being sucked into the massive hole, as revelers attempted to grab items to prevent themselves from being pulled in.
The pool inflatables were swept into the hole and disappeared.
Paramedic Uri Damari told The Jerusalem Post: “This is a very unusual incident.
“When I arrived at the scene, I saw a pit that had opened up at the bottom of the empty pool.
“People at the site told me the pit suddenly opened up and within seconds all the water in the pool was sucked out.”
A 34-year-old man was also sucked into the hole but managed to escape with minor head and limb injuries.
