CCTV showed a traffic officer pointing out a large crack in middle of road
He then sectioned area off with cones before directing cars around crack
Moments later a sinkhole, which was more than six foot deep, appeared
China's state broadcaster said investigations into collapse are underway
This is the dramatic moment a massive sinkhole suddenly opened up after a crack appeared in the middle of a crossroad in China.
The hole, which was more than six foot deep, emerged moments after a traffic police officer spotted the road sinking.
CCTV showed the officer pointing out the crack before promptly directing traffic around it in Hangzhou city, Zhejiang province.
The officer then began placing cones around the crack before returning to divert the traffic around the major road block with his hands.
Other officers could be seen assisting him as the heavy traffic did its best to keep flowing.
A matter of moments later a section of road suddenly fell away before the rest of it followed and a huge crater appeared.
China's state broadcaster, CCTV, reported that investigations into the collapse are currently underway.
Sinkholes usually occur in areas where soluble bedrock is exposed to water, which has the ability to dissolve it.
Water erosion on a sinkhole of this kind would have started underneath the surface of the road with cracks and holes appearing.
These cracks and holes would continue to expand until the road above was no longer able to support its own weight.
The surface of the road would then crumble, as it did in the CCTV footage, to reveal the hole underneath.
