Australian family narrowly escapes sinkhole that swallowed their car

An Australian family narrowly escaped a sinkhole that swallowed their Landrover whole.

Michael and Margie Rule were involved in the accident when headed out to get some lunch in the Indonesian city of Yogyakarta on Tuesday, 7News reports.

The ground gave way beneath the couple as they sat in traffic and it was only quick thinking that stopped the whole family from being in the car as it disappeared.

"The car lurched and my husband yelled for me to get out of the car and grab our son," Margie told 7News.

"I didn't even think. Just jumped. I grabbed our baby and then he climbed out after us."

Margie said she was shocked when she saw CCTV footage of the incident, which showed them scrambling for cover before the car disappeared.

"It looked really terrible. We didn't even know there was footage until we got to the hotel and spoke to our families."

The family is part way through an adventure around the globe travelling with the Landrover, which was shipped from Australia to East Timor at the start of the journey.

They're now working on getting the car repaired before moving on. It was damaged heavily when it hit the ground at the bottom of the sinkhole.

"There is a small Landrover community here in Yogya and they have been incredible helping us with this ordeal," Margie said.

"The doors are pretty warped so it's hard to get in."

Newshub.