At least six people have died and 16 others have been injured after a massive sinkhole swallowed up a bus picking up passengers in northwestern China, the latest in a recent string of deadly road collapses in the country.

A public bus had just halted at a stop in the city of Xining, Qinghai province on Monday afternoon when a gaping sinkhole suddenly opened up underneath it, state news agency Xinhua reported.

Dramatic surveillance footage showed passengers boarding the bus when the collapse happened, swallowing the front of the vehicle, a lamppost and people waiting in line, while others at the bus stop fled for their lives.