Sinkhole opens up next to Brussels Central station

A street next to Brussels Central station collapsed on Thursday morning, leaving a sinkhole measuring three metres deep and six by four metres wide.

Nobody was injured and no vehicles were damaged in the incident on Rue Cardinal Mercier, which is used by empty Stib buses terminating at the station.

Grote grondverzakking nabij Centraal Station, vlakbij de hoofdzetel van Vivaqua. Mogelijk lekke riolering https://t.co/Sn2Xd7qEPp pic.twitter.com/wA0gF5dKm5

— BRUZZ (@BRUZZbe) 31 August 2017

The hole is just a few metres from the headquarters of water firm Vivaqua, which has detected a leak near the top of the street and a possible collapsed sewer.

Repair works are expected to take several weeks - with some Vivaqua sources estimating the work could last months. The four bus routes that use the street as a rest area will be diverted, but the main stops outside Central Station are unaffected.