Man dies after being sucked into swimming pool sinkhole
Tragic incident occured at a private party
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A couple has been placed under house arrest in Israel after one of their party guests died when he was sucked into a sinkhole that formed at the bottom of their swimming pool.
The man and woman, both in their sixties, are suspected of causing death by negligence, police said.
They were arrested on Thursday night and a court decided to release them Friday under “restrictive conditions of house arrest” for five days.
Israeli police said the deceased 30-year-old was found following a search mission in which police, emergency crews and the army took part.
The incident happened during a private party the couple hosted at their house in the town of Karmi Yosef, 40 kilometers (25 miles) southeast of the city of Tel Aviv.
A sinkhole forms as a hole in the ground when water dissolves surface rock.
According to National Geographic, the land surrounding the Dead Sea in the Middle East is prone to sinkholes because of the prevalence of rock salt, which is easily dissolved by water.
Mobile phone video from the scene shows floaties and water being sucked to the bottom, at the center of the pool, as people sitting by the poolside shout in Hebrew.
A man is seen approaching the sinkhole, slips and is almost pulled in before he backs away.
Israeli media cited witnesses as saying the party was attended by nearly 50 people, of whom six were in the pool, and also reported that the homeowner had built the pool without proper licensing.