On a football pitch in Gordon Moore Park, Alton, southern Illinois, a massive sinkhole opened up and swallowed artificial grass, seats and a light pole.The hole, which is at least 100ft wide (30.5 metres) and up to 30ft deep (15 metres), was created by subsidence from adjacent underground limestone mining.Security footage captured the incident this week.
Luckily, nobody was hurt in the incident, despite the danger of sinkholes wherever they occur.The mining business notified the Mine Safety Health Administration about the hole, and as a result, the park and surrounding roads have been blocked.
Mayor David Goins gave an update to those in the area.
He said: “We’re waiting to hear back from the mine and see what the geologists and the engineers have to say about it.
“We’ll follow their lead on where to go from here. They can determine what happened, why it happened, how to prevent it, and how we fix what has happened here.”
Haynes added that the hole was around 30ft deep and 100ft broad. When the pitch collapsed, no one was using it.According to a representative for New Frontier Materials, the sinkhole originated from their underground mine.
The park and surrounding roads have now been closed indefinitely.
The New Frontier Materials spokesperson explained: “The impacted area has been secured and will remain off limits for the foreseeable future while inspectors and experts examine the mine and conduct repairs.
“No one was injured in the incident, which has been reported to officials at the Mine Safety Health Administration (MSHA) in accordance with applicable regulations. Safety is our top priority. We will work with the city to remediate this issue as quickly and safely as possible to ensure minimal impact on the community.”
