Watch: Truck sinks into lake in Illinois on live television, video goes viral

Live news reporting can often result in dramatic visuals. But it is rare that you become witness to another story while reporting one. This rare event happened in Illinois, USA. A reporter was filming his segment near Lake Springfield when a white GMC pickup truck slid into the reservoir behind him. A news reporter named Jakob Emerson was recording at the Spaulding Dam boat launch when the incident occurred. He was talking about a controversy over the construction of the lake when the truck behind him began silently sliding back towards the water. At first, Emerson remained unaware of the incident. As soon as he realised what was happening, he directed the cameraperson to film the vehicle instead and got out of the camera’s way. The video then shows a group of people standing near the truck, watching helplessly as it vanishes in the reservoir.

The video of the incident, which happened on 29 July, gained traction when football writer Brian Floyd shared it on Twitter. The viral clip has over 2,00,000 views on the social media platform. Several social media users expressed concern about whether there were any people in the vehicle when it sank. Other people found the clip hilarious. According to news channel ABC20, there were no passengers inside the truck when it submerged. The owner of the vehicle was taking a boat onto the lake with a woman and child when the incident occurred. According to the Sangamon County Rescue Squad, no injuries were sustained.