(Xi'an, Shaanxi, China) -- An unsuspecting girl has been caught on surveillance footage stepping and falling through a pavement while walking down a street in northern China, state television CCTV reported.
The pavement caved in under the teenager's weight as soon as she stepped onto a section of the walkway, surveillance camera footage showed.
A passing cab driver stopped immediately at the scene and climbed into the six-metre (20 foot) deep pit to help the girl.
"I called out to her but she didn't respond. After I shook her a little, she came to," said Wang Wei, a taxi driver in the northern city of Xi'an.
Wang climbed down to the bottom of the pit clinging to a cable under the pavement.
"The dirt kept showering down on us and the kid couldn't stop crying," he added.
Underground water had eroded the ground under the road and caused a cavity under the pavement, CCTV said.
The ground in the pit continued to shift while the cab driver and the girl were still in it, which made it impossible for them to climb out until firefighters extended a ladder in to help them.
"The ladder kept moving about, it's a little flimsy and the girl kept screaming out of fear. So I told her to go first and I'll be right behind her. Finally we managed to get out," Wang said.
Footage showed the pair emerging from the hole and being pulled to safety with the help of firefighters and passers-by.