Giant Pothole Swallows Taxi

The nightmare of every driver on Costa Rican roads became Alvaro Montiel’s reality Monday, when the taxi he was driving plunged into a pothole so deep it enveloped the vehicle.

Montiel, who was traveling alone along a road near Nicoya, in the northwestern province of Guanacaste, suffered only minor injuries, making it unnecessary to transfer him to a hospital, the daily La Nación reported.

However, his car, a four-wheel-drive Isuzu Trooper, was stuck on its side in the two-meter deep and three-meter wide pothole, and had to be lifted out with a crane.

The incident took place at 3:30 p.m. when the glare of the sunlight prevented the cab driver from seeing the hole until it was too late, he told La Nación.

No road signs warn drivers of the danger of the giant pothole.