A giant foaming 'sinkhole' spewing out "alien" foam has appeared on a rugby pitch where HS2 is being built. Work on the project was stopped for several hours after dog walkers found the brown foam bubbling out the ground at Ruislip RFC in west London. According to HS2, workers moved to seal off the area which was “most likely caused” by one of the tunnelling machines passing through a small pre-existing borehole.
Jatin Radia, 45, the Chairman of Ruislip RFC, described the bubbling pool as “alien” and added: “I was watching his 14-year-old son play NFL on Saturday morning when my phone started blowing up. Members of the rugby club were sending me photos and videos asking me what was going on.
“It looked alien and unnatural. It reminded me of a volcano spewing up lava. I couldn’t believe it was anywhere in the UK.”
Jatin quickly got in touch with the police, the environment agency, Hillingdon Council and HS2 to find out what was happening. As part of the construction process for the controversial rail line, HS2 engineers are boring a tunnel under Ruislip Station which is adjacent to the rugby club. Jatin arrived at the ground around 1pm and was met by two HS2 investigators.
“We were walking around having a look when my 14-year-old son picked up a stick and threw it in," he said. "He turned to me and asked, ‘We’ve watched the Marvel movies and Doctor Who, if we jump in, will it take us to another dimension?’
“We understood very quickly from the HS2 guys that it wasn’t sewage because it didn’t smell, but there was no way we were going to touch it. It was foaming sludge, and the fear was whether it was toxic. I left my number with the guys from HS2 and asked them to get in touch once they knew what was causing it. They quickly cordoned off the area and put up danger signs.
“The real concern was is it toxic, is it harmful, and if it's happening at the edge of our rugby ground, what’s happening underneath the houses where they’re tunnelling?”
On top of his concerns for the local community, Jatin was also worried for the rugby club, which has 600 members. “My concern was, what else could happen?" he said. "We quickly put out a note to our members saying this is going on, we don't know what it is, don’t go near it.
“It’s a community sports club and we volunteer because we love rugby. As chairman, it's my responsibility to make sure the pitches are safe. We run training sessions every evening and play every weekend - there are always matches going on. In two weeks' time, we are hosting a festival for Middlesex County, and we’ll have 450 nine and 10-year-olds running around.
“My fear is, could kids be harmed if it happens on the pitch while they’re playing?”
“My message to HS2 is, ‘Please investigate, give us a thorough report on why it happened and give us comfort that it continues to be safe for our rugby club to operate.’ “As a local resident, it’s only natural that we have concerns that HS2 is done properly and professionally.”
Although the area remains cordoned off, Jatin said the foam has now dissipated. HS2 have also written to Jatin to let him know the pitches are perfectly safe to play on, he said. An HS2 spokesperson said: “Upon discovering the small pool of foam in Ruislip on Saturday, HS2’s main works’ contractor SCS (Skanska Costain STRABAG) sealed off the area to investigate.
“The pool appears to have come out of a pre-existing borehole, causing foam to travel up and pool on the surface. The area is safe, the leak has been sealed, and the foam has been cleared. There has been no impact on the programme schedule.”
