A golfer has survived being swallowed by an 18ft deep sinkhole.
Mark Mihal was on the fairway at the 14th hole at Annbriar Golf Course, when the 10ft wide hole opened beneath his feet, the St Louis Post-Dispatch reports.
The 43-year-old was winched to safety with a rope, miraculously suffering just a dislocated shoulder in the event.
Hank Martinez, top, Ed Magaletta, right, and Russ Nobbe, look into an 18ft deep and 10ft wide sinkhole that golfer Mark Minhal fell in to
The accident comes a week after Florida man Jeffrey Bush was reported missing and is now presumed dead after a sinkhole engulfed his bedroom as he slept.
Mihal, a mortgage broker, told the Associated Press that while the course is still one of his favourites, he’s reconsidering playing there again.
He said: "It'd be kind of strange playing that hole again, for sure."
Lucky to be alive: Mihal suffered a dislocated shoulder in the event
Mihal is co-founder of website Golfmanna, where his wife Lori gives a full account of the events involving her husband.
She writes of her husband’s “excruciating pain” and quotes him as recalling: “It seemed like I was falling for a long time.
"The real scary part was I didn’t know when I would hit bottom and what I would land on.”
