By . Ap and Daily Mail Reporter . PUBLISHED: . 10:22 EST, 6 August 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 15:17 EST, 6 August 2013 . A 26 foot long sinkhole appeared on a Montreal street Monday morning and swallowed an entire backhoe. The massive cavern opened up in a commercial strip of the Canadian city around 9am as crews were getting ready to repair a leaky water main. Workers continued to struggle Tuesday to pull the eight ton construction vehicle from the gaping hole. Scroll down for video... Gulp: An 8-ton backhoe was swallowed by a Montreal sinkhole Monday . The backhoe had started to chip at asphalt near the corner of Ste-Catherine and Guy streets when the ground crumbled beneath it and the heavy machine tumbled in. The driver of the backhoe was not injured but was taken to hospital to be checked out as a precaution, city officials said. Emilie Miskdjian, a spokeswoman for the Ville-Marie borough, said the city was alerted to the possible water leak on the weekend. She said preliminary indications were that the leak caused the problem but more inspections needed to be done to find the exact cause. Swallowed: The cave-in occurred in a busy commercial intersection in the Canadian city around 9am as crews started to repair a leaky water main . ‘We think that the water leak was because of the sewer pipe,’ she told reporters. ‘It's a broken sewer pipe. That's what we think but we have to do inspections to see what is really the cause.’ Montreal police quickly blocked off streets around the sinkhole and rerouted traffic away from the stretch of street which is dotted with restaurants and stores. Metal fences were erected around the hole, where the backhoe remained at an angle as crews figured out how to eventually remove it safely. Heavy: Officials struggled into Tuesday to pull the massive machine out of the hole . Dangerous: The hole was likely caused by a leaky water main, which crews were preparing to fix as the sinkhole opened Monday. The area remained unsafe for heavy machinery . Firefighters and gas company workers also milled around the scene, which drew a horde of lunchtime gawkers who snapped pictures of it with their cellphones. Rahman Esmaili, owner of the Sharx pool bar, was instead assessing damage to his basement-level bar where he says water had been leaking in for more than a week. He says the city was warned about the problem but replied there were no reports of low water pressure. ‘The city completely ignored (it),’ he said. ‘This morning, they decided to come and look at it.’ Parallel pothole: Meanwhile, in Miami Beach, Florida, another water main likely caused another vehicle--in this case, a yellow sports car (pictured)--to sink into a city street on Monday . Esmaili said workers hadn't been there long before the street caved in. He wondered aloud what would have happened if heavy traffic had been passing over the spot at the moment it collapsed. ‘It's very disturbing,’ he said. Esmaili said he will have to close his business for several days to replace soaked carpeting. Meanwhile, another leaky water main is to blame for a sinkhole in Miami Beach, Florida. Construction equipment likely damaged a pipe there and as a yellow sports car sat at a light Monday, it suddenly began to sink. Crews were able to remove the car and that driver, too, was uninjured.
Crews struggled to remove the 8 ton construction vehicle into Tuesday .
The backhoe was there fixing a leaky water main, which likely caused the Monday morning cave-in .
A car was also swallowed by a Miami Beach sinkhole on Monday .
By . Ap and Daily Mail Reporter . PUBLISHED: . 10:22 EST, 6 August 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 15:17 EST, 6 August 2013 . A 26 foot long sinkhole appeared on a Montreal street Monday morning and swallowed an entire backhoe. The massive cavern opened up in a commercial strip of the Canadian city around 9am as crews were getting ready to repair a leaky water main. Workers continued to struggle Tuesday to pull the eight ton construction vehicle from the gaping hole. Scroll down for video... Gulp: An 8-ton backhoe was swallowed by a Montreal sinkhole Monday . The backhoe had started to chip at asphalt near the corner of Ste-Catherine and Guy streets when the ground crumbled beneath it and the heavy machine tumbled in. The driver of the backhoe was not injured but was taken to hospital to be checked out as a precaution, city officials said. Emilie Miskdjian, a spokeswoman for the Ville-Marie borough, said the city was alerted to the possible water leak on the weekend. She said preliminary indications were that the leak caused the problem but more inspections needed to be done to find the exact cause. Swallowed: The cave-in occurred in a busy commercial intersection in the Canadian city around 9am as crews started to repair a leaky water main . ‘We think that the water leak was because of the sewer pipe,’ she told reporters. ‘It's a broken sewer pipe. That's what we think but we have to do inspections to see what is really the cause.’ Montreal police quickly blocked off streets around the sinkhole and rerouted traffic away from the stretch of street which is dotted with restaurants and stores. Metal fences were erected around the hole, where the backhoe remained at an angle as crews figured out how to eventually remove it safely. Heavy: Officials struggled into Tuesday to pull the massive machine out of the hole . Dangerous: The hole was likely caused by a leaky water main, which crews were preparing to fix as the sinkhole opened Monday. The area remained unsafe for heavy machinery . Firefighters and gas company workers also milled around the scene, which drew a horde of lunchtime gawkers who snapped pictures of it with their cellphones. Rahman Esmaili, owner of the Sharx pool bar, was instead assessing damage to his basement-level bar where he says water had been leaking in for more than a week. He says the city was warned about the problem but replied there were no reports of low water pressure. ‘The city completely ignored (it),’ he said. ‘This morning, they decided to come and look at it.’ Parallel pothole: Meanwhile, in Miami Beach, Florida, another water main likely caused another vehicle--in this case, a yellow sports car (pictured)--to sink into a city street on Monday . Esmaili said workers hadn't been there long before the street caved in. He wondered aloud what would have happened if heavy traffic had been passing over the spot at the moment it collapsed. ‘It's very disturbing,’ he said. Esmaili said he will have to close his business for several days to replace soaked carpeting. Meanwhile, another leaky water main is to blame for a sinkhole in Miami Beach, Florida. Construction equipment likely damaged a pipe there and as a yellow sports car sat at a light Monday, it suddenly began to sink. Crews were able to remove the car and that driver, too, was uninjured.
appeared on a Montreal street Monday morning and swallowed by a Montreal sinkhole Monday . The leaky water main, which crews were preparing to another water main likely caused another for a sinkhole in Miami Beach, Florida. able to remove the car and that driver, too, was