Rescuers Unable to Recover Florida Sinkhole Victim Jeff Bush in Tampa

The body of Jeff Bush, the Florida man who was swallowed up by a sinkhole in his Tampa Florida home on Thursday night, will not be recovered say rescue workers. After several days of trying to recover Bush’s body, rescue workers have been forced to call off the search.

As often happens in Florida, a sinkhole opened up without warning, causing the concrete bedroom floor in Bush’s home to drop out below him, swallowing him up in the process. Bush’s brother Jeremy had reportedly tried in vain to get his brother out of the hole, while waiting for rescuers, but was not able to find him.

The home is not condemned and is scheduled for demolition. Hillsborough County Administrator Mike Merrill, indicated that heavy equipment will be brought in on Sunday to begin demolishing the four-bedroom home.

“At this point it’s really not possible to recover the body,” Merrill said, later adding “we’re dealing with a very unusual sinkhole.”

According to reports, the home next door to the Bushes has been compromised by the sinkhole, and the family residing there has been forced to abandon it as well.

Because sinkholes are so common, and difficult to predict in the state, Florida law requires that insurance companies provide coverage for sinkholes in their policies.

Jeremy Bush, who tried to rescue his brother when the earth opened, lay flowers and a stuffed lamb near the house Saturday morning and wept.