This is the shocking moment a huge sinkhole swallows up a car parked outside a housing estate overnight.

CCTV footage shows how a car and a tree disappear instantly as the ground suddenly opens up in Ufa, Bashkortostan, Russia, on March 9.

The clip, recorded in a car park close to midnight, reveals the car's hazard lights flashing as it drops into the deep pit, triggering its alarm.

Later footage shows the crushed vehicle being hoisted back to the surface by a crane as the clip ends.

The sinkhole was reportedly caused by soil erosion beneath the car park.

The region, located near where two of Russia's biggest rivers - the Ufa and the Belaya - meet, is said to suffer from swampy conditions.