Firefighters in Veracruz were looking for floodwaters after heavy rains but they found a sinkhole instead. Or it found them.

A rear wheel of the tanker truck fell into the hole yesterday morning, stranding the vehicle on Calle Mariano Azuela.

No one was hurt.

A municipal official said work is currently under way in the area to replace water mains.

It is the fourth sinkhole to appear in the streets of the city this month. One swallowed a city transit bus.

The official also said any motorist whose vehicle sustains damage due to a sinkhole caused by a failure in the drainage system can apply for compensation at municipal offices. He said there is a form available for that purpose.

Heavy rainfall, in some cases unusually so, has revealed drainage problems in several areas in recent weeks through the appearance of sinkholes. The worst was on the Cuernavaca Paso Express, where two people died.