A valley metro bus was trapped in a sinkhole in a suburban area of Tempe, Arizona on Wednesday, causing local authorities to evacuate the 11 passengers from the vehicle. 

Reportedly, the bus partially fell into a sinkhole caused by a broken water main.

Police released a statement saying that officers as well as firefighters were called to the area in order to assist passengers in evacuating the stuck vehicle. The passengers and the drivers of the city bus were forced to vacate the vehicle through the bus' windows. 

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Police reports say that the back right side of the bus first fell into the sinkhole at around 10 in the morning.

Initial attempts to use tow trucks to pull the bus out failed, reportedly because the bus was simply too heavy to be hoisted up.

At around five in the afternoon of the same day, the bus was then successfully pulled out by a crane. According to police, extra caution had to be exercised due to there being a gas line underneath the sinkhole.

The non-stop flow of water was stopped after almost two hours. The city crews had to shut off all the valves in the area, including those located in Apache Boulevard and McClintock Drive.

No one was reported injured, however, a couple of businesses were flooded by the breakage of the water main.

Some residents in the area also reported water damage inside their homes. A motel operator said that some of their guests were asked to move out because water covered the floor.

Authorities are still investigating the cause of the broken water main, although it is somewhat assumed that it burst due to age.

There were also rail tracks around the area but authorities said that the water did not reach the tracks and trains are still fully operational. 

TagsSinkhole, Tempe, Arizona, water main, broken water main, flooding arizona