A burst water main caused a large section of road to collapse on the Boulevard Grosso in Nice on Thursday, July 3, forming a gaping hole in the carriageway and flooding nearby businesses with water and mud.
The rupture, described by Nice authorities as a major incident, occurred on one of the main roads in the western part of the city. Shops and restaurants in the area were left without water and electricity as crews worked to assess the damage. Some businesses were inundated.
Ligia Nobrega, owner of the nearby restaurant Le Goût du Brésil, described seeing the road give way in front of her. Emergency services and utility workers were deployed rapidly to the scene to establish a safety perimeter and begin repair works. The surrounding area was placed off limits while the scale of the damage was assessed.
No injuries were reported. The cause of the rupture is under investigation.