A bed and the woman who was sleeping on it fell into a large hole that was created by land subsidence in northern Quang Ninh Province last night, the latest incident following one that forced the evacuation of dozens of families last week.

At 1 am on August 26, a terrible noise was heard coming from the house of Bui Ba Thanh in Hai Son 1 Quarter, Cam Dong Ward, Cam Pha City, before a hole measuring 7 meters wide and 3 meters deep appeared under the house

The dangerous hole swallowed a bed and the woman, Bui Thi Thu, who was sleeping on it. Luckily, she suffered only slight injuries from the incident.

Several nearby houses were left with cracked walls and sunken floors.

Nguyen Trong Minh, chairman of the People’s Committee of Cam Pha City, said he has ordered concerned agencies to evacuate a number of families from dangerous areas or areas that are considered vulnerable to land subsidence.

Minh said the authorities have invited the Geophysics Technology Joint Stock Company, under the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, to conduct a survey to identify the causes of the recent land subsidence.

Last week, five incidents occurred separately on the morning of August 21 in the city, forcing the evacuation of dozens of families. The first incident took place at 5 am in the Thuy Son residential area in Cam Son District, when a local man, Luu Dinh Son, realized he couldn’t open the front door of his house, as the floor had sunk, thus blocking the door. At noon, more subsidence occurred, creating four more holes, the largest of which was 15 meters wide and 7 meters deep. Along with sunken land, numerous houses in the area sustained cracked walls and foundation damage. Vu Van Hien, chairman of the ward committee, said several groups of scientists from central and provincial levels have arrived in Cam Pha to study the situation. The initial results of one geological survey revealed that there are many underground water reservoirs in Cam Son, Hien said. On October 2, 2011, the third land subsidence within a month occurred in Quang Ninh, creating a huge hole that led to an urgent evacuation of fourteen families.

The accident occurred along with a terrible noise from underground in Cao Xanh Ward, Ha Long City, leaving a large hole, 5 m wide and 20 m deep.