A large area of road collapsed Sunday afternoon at a junction located in Beijing's Chaoyang District, the Beijing Times reported on Monday.

Five meters wide and five meters deep, the pit appeared at the intersection of Tianshuiyuan Road and Shuiduizi East Street.

Water erupted from a manhole at the junction and flooded the road before the area near the manhole collapsed, said a witness named Mrs Zhou.

"The pit was filled with water," she added.

The collapse was caused by improper underground construction initiated by the city's municipal government, according to a maintenance worker.

"We will replace the broken water pipelines with new ones," said the worker.

The water supply for nearly 300 households in a nearby residential community was affected by the accident.

Emergency water was dispatched to residents by the Beijing Waterworks Group.