Boulder the size of an elephant crushes entire house and instantly kills two inhabitants in Utah landslide
- Two storey wooden building was reduced to pile of splinters by huge rock
- It came rolling down a nearby valley after a landslide near Rockville, Ohio
- The unsuspecting victims were inside the property when it was flattened
By Aaron Sharp
PUBLISHED: 04:58 EST, 13 December 2013 | UPDATED: 08:53 EST, 13 December 2013
Two people have been killed after a rock slide sent a giant boulder rolling down a valley and onto the roof of their two storey home.
The house in Rockville, Utah, was completely demolished by the rock, which crushed the entire wooden structure of the building, leaving behind a scene of complete devastation.
When emergency services arrived at the scene, shortly after 5pm yesterday, they found the splintered remains of the home buried under the weight of the gigantic boulder which stood at a height of around 15ft.
Impact: The house, which stood alone in front of a cliff face was crushed by the giant boulder after it was dislodged by the landslide
Line of fire: The log cabin was vulnerable to falling debris due to its location at the bottom of the rocky surface
Response: Emergency services reacted to the rockslide, but soon had to retreat due to unsafe conditions overhead
The town is located on the main highway through Zion National Park, NBC station KSL in Salt Lake City reported.
Rockville's mayor, Dan McGuire, told local press that the earth close to the road gave way causing a landslide which carried tons of soil and rocks on to the home at the bottom of a steep incline.
He added that the cause of the fall is being treated as natural with no human activity being blamed for triggering the slide.
McGuire said the house 'just flattened out' when the debris hit, confirming that nobody in the house has survived.
As it was: The two storey house had concrete foundations with a wooden upper tier which was smashed by the boulder
Devastation: Two people were inside the house which was at the bottom of a steep incline close to one of the area's major highways
Emergency crews responded to the slide but their work has been hampered by the dangerous conditions overhead.
Rescue efforts were suspended until this morning because of dangerous conditions.
A similar incident in 2002 saw another home destroyed but no one was harmed.
Tragic: Giant boulders almost as big as the building flattened the structure completely, leaving behind a pile crushed walls and windows
Recovery: Emergency crews began working at the scene but were forced to call off their search due to the risk of further falling debris
Disaster scene: A family car can be seen parked outside the home in Rockville Utah. A similar incident crushed a home in 2002 but there were no fatalities
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