Luxury home dangles off cliff over Texas lake

LAKE WHITNEY, Texas - A vacant luxury home is dangling over Lake Whitney after the bluff beneath it has given way and fallen into the lake, reports CBSDFW.com.

A crack was found a year ago in the bluff beneath the home, located in the Lake Whitney area south of Dallas.

According to a spokesman at the Hill County Sheriff's Office, the residents knew the home was not safe and evacuated.

A large portion of the bluff fell into the lake on Tuesday afternoon, leaving a portion of the house dangling off the cliff.

"Just best guess looking at this map, [the home] is probably 60 to 80 yards from the lake," said Mark Wilson, Chief Deputy with the Hill County Sheriff's Office. "Yes, there's a lot of erosion."

According to authorities, the home is not a public safety concern, and the electricity to the home has been shut off.

Security for the private community is not allowing visitors or reporters on the scene.

Wilson says that representatives with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers are in the water behind the house, keeping boaters from getting too close.

Authorities are not expected to intervene and instead will allow the home to fall into the lake.