This is the sinking feeling moment two brothers are swallowed up by a giant hole as they walk down a street.

CCTV footage shows the pair – named as Jeanpierri and Alexander Soares da Silva – as they walk along Rua Conde de Bomfim, a street in the North Zone of Rio de Janeiro, in Brazil.

A sinkhole suddenly opens up underneath them and the brothers plunge 10 feet (three metres) straight down.

Passers-by helped rescue the pair who were taken to hospital with head injuries, according to local media.

The footage of the incident, which happened on 24th April, was released on Tuesday, 16th May following a police investigation.

City officials said the hole had been opened up by a burst drain under the street which had been overwhelmed by heavy rain.

Local media reported that it has been closed up and reinforced.

Brazil has been hit by a number of weather-related disasters, with climate change blamed for unusually high rains.

But experts warn that the problem is wider than that, with difficult geography, impoverished favelas, a lack of urban planning and neglect by public authorities.

There have been no updates on the injuries suffered by the brothers.