Sinkhole horror: Two men boiled alive as hole swallows their car

The two men in the Lada are believed to have been killed almost immediately. Photo / Getty

Two men have died after the car they were driving filled up with scorching hot water after a sinkhole swallowed them in Russia.

The pair were trapped in the vehicle in Penza and died "almost immediately" when 75C water sprayed the car.

A burst hot water pipe under a car park was seen as the cause of the horror.

Distressing images show the car being pulled out of the sinkhole as hot steam from the opening can be seen rising.

Hot water is pumped through cities in Russia to help businesses and homeowners cope with the extreme cold. Photo / Getty

The steaming wreckage of the Lada is seen in the middle of the road today after it plunged into a sink hole full of hot water. Photo / VK.com

The local Ministry of Emergencies said: "A car fell as a result of the ground collapsing. Sadly people were killed". Photo / VK.com

The local Ministry of Emergencies said: "A car fell as a result of the ground collapsing. Sadly people were killed."

A journalist from Penza Vzglyad local news website said: "Another car drove over the same spot minutes before the accident.

"The driver noticed ground beginning to steam – and quickly drove off. Then these two men came.

The two men in the Lada are believed to have been killed almost immediately. Photo / Getty

"They parked – and the asphalt collapsed right under them."

"What a horrendous way to die - one moment you are driving a car, the next underground drowning in hot water," said one woman.