( CNN ) -- Unable to rescue a man devoured by a giant sinkhole , workers started demolishing his Florida home Sunday -- three days after the ground under his bedroom opened up and swallowed him . Crowds watched as a backhoe plunged its bucket into the home 's blue walls , leaving the wreckage of wood beams and cinder blocks where rooms once stood . Some snapped photos with cell phone cameras , said John Gauntt , a reporter for CNN affiliate Bay News 9 . Others turned toward the ground with tears in their eyes . Demolition of the house lasted for about three hours on Sunday and was expected to continue on Monday morning , Hillsborough County Administrator Mike Merrill told reporters . It was a delicate process , officials said , as a county employee skillfully maneuvered a massive piece of construction equipment to scoop up the family 's valuables and carry them to safety . The items salvaged included a Bible , military awards and an American flag that hung near the house 's front door . One woman wept as an official handed her a framed family portrait . The demolition crew worked for only a few hours on Sunday to give the family time to sift through their belongings , Merrill said . But authorities said they could n't recover Jeff Bush 's body from the massive hole that opened up under his bedroom . The sinkhole -- about 20 feet wide and 50 to 60 feet deep -- was still expanding , they said , and the suburban Tampa house could collapse at any time . Authorities made the heartbreaking decision to stop the search for Bush after the odds against his survival became abundantly clear . `` We just have not been able to locate Mr. Bush , and so for that reason , the rescue effort is being discontinued , '' Merrill told reporters Saturday evening . `` At this point , it 's really not possible to recover the body . '' The Bush family 's nightmare began Thursday night , just as everyone was about to go to sleep . A deafening noise shattered the peace in the blue , one-story home in the suburb of Seffner . Then , Jeremy Bush said he heard his brother , Jeff , scream . `` I ran toward my brother 's bedroom , '' he told CNN 's `` AC360 . '' `` Everything was gone . My brother 's bed , my brother 's dresser , my brother 's TV . My brother was gone . '' Jeremy Bush jumped in the hole and frantically shoveled away rubble . But as the house 's floor collapsed , a sheriff 's deputy pulled him to safety , while his brother remained trapped below . `` I could n't get him out , '' Jeremy Bush said , weeping . `` I tried so hard . I tried everything I could . '' Sinkholes : Common , costly and sometimes deadly . Jeremy Bush and four others , including a 2-year-old child , were uninjured . After officials called off the search for his brother 's body Saturday , Jeremy Bush told Bay News 9 the family was devastated . `` It 's not just I lost my brother . There are so many memories in this house , '' he told the CNN affiliate . `` My wife and her brother and the whole family . ... Every holiday , we gathered at this house . Her grandmother passed away . All the stuff to remember her by is in this house , and we 're losing it all . You ca n't replace that . You ca n't replace a life being gone . '' As crews began demolishing the house Sunday , pieces of the family 's lives were pushed into public view . Walls with picture frames on them came crashing down . Baby toys and clothes on hangers were raked across the ground . Knocking down the unsafe structure is necessary , officials said , to get a better look at the sinkhole and to figure out the best way to fill it . `` Once they can get a better view , then they can get a sense of what the next step is . ... This is one step at a time , because we really do n't know what we 're dealing with here , '' Merrill said Sunday morning . Sinkholes are common in the state , according to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection . Florida lies on bedrock made of limestone or other carbonate rock that can be eaten away by acidic groundwater , forming voids that collapse when the rock can no longer support the weight of what 's above it . Hillsborough County , on Florida 's west coast , is part of an area known as `` sinkhole alley '' that accounts for two thirds of the sinkhole-related insurance claims in the state , according to a Florida state Senate Insurance and Banking Committee report . With officials concerned that more ground near the house in Seffner could give way Sunday , the massive backhoe demolishing the house kept its distance , staying on the street . Nearby homes were evacuated Friday as a precaution . The family that lived next door was given about 30 minutes to grab belongings before abandoning the house , which was compromised by the sinkhole , fire department spokesman Ronnie Rivera said . Though the risky search for Jeff Bush has ended , the danger has not . Merrill said workers were dealing with a `` very unusual sinkhole '' -- deep , wide and extremely unstable . `` It 's underground , it 's unseen and we 're uncertain as to what 's under there , '' said John Lyons , the county 's director of public works . `` So we 'll be very cautious going in . '' Contractors will finish demolition work on Monday , he said . `` They 'll pull out the rest of the structure , load it up and take it away . '' But authorities said Jeff Bush 's body will remain in its final resting place , trapped underground where the house his family lived in for generations once stood . Check out the latest news from CNN.com . CNN 's Jake Carpenter , Dana Ford and Brian Carberry contributed to this report .
A large backhoe demolishes part of the house and scoops valuables to safety . Crews recover a `` AC360 , military awards and an American flag from the wreckage . Work to demolish a Hillsborough County home where a sinkhole opened up will continue Saturday , authorities say . `` It 's really not possible to recover the body '' of John Gauntt , a county official says .