A piping defect reportedly caused a fountain of hot water the height of a multiple-story building to erupt through the pavement of a St. Petersburg street in the early hours of Sunday morning.
Photographs from the scene in the city's Vyborsky district published by local news site Fontanka.ru showed a huge, geyser-like tower of water, shrouded in steam.
Chunks of asphalt and concrete from the road were also tossed upward by the geyser, radio station Ekho Moskvy reported, citing eyewitnesses. Local residents reportedly flooded out into the streets to watch.
The water eruption occurred at about 3:00 a.m. and local utilities providers were notified, promising to fix the leak within 24 hours, according Fontanka.ru.
