A minibus driver got the fright of his life when a six-metre wide pothole suddenly opened up and swallowed his vehicle as he sat in traffic.

According to reports, the massive hole appeared without warning after weeks of heavy rain in Guilin city, China.

"I thought it was an earthquake," the driver said.

"The ground suddenly disappeared from underneath me and there was this tremendous crack and a rumbling," he added.

The man was unhurt in the incident, managing to scramble to safety.

"It was impossible to predict. The road looked undamaged on the surface but their weight of the minibus sitting on it was just too much for it to bear," a police spokesperson said.