Sinkhole swallows soccer field in Illinois in shocking video

[mahatmakanejeeves]

Sinkhole swallows soccer field in Illinois in shocking video
The hole is approximately 100 feet wide and 30 feet deep, and may have been caused by an underground mine.

'It kind of all went at once': Sinkhole swallows Illinois soccer field

June 27, 2024, 9:05 AM EDT
By Marlene Lenthang

A massive sink hole stretching 100 feet opened up in an Illinois park on Wednesday, swallowing a light pole in the middle of recreational fields and leaving a gaping, deep hole in its wake.

The terrifying moment was caught on a nearby surveillance camera Wednesday morning, showing an area between two soccer and football fields open up around a light pole, sending it tumbling down in and releasing plumes of smoke at Gordon Moore Park in the city of Alton, located about 18 miles north of St. Louis, Missouri.

The hole is approximately 100 feet wide and 30 feet deep, Alton Parks and Recreation Director Michael Haynes said, according to NBC affiliate KSDK of St. Louis. ... “It looks like something out of a movie, right? It looks like a bomb went off,” Haynes told the outlet.

{snip}

[flying_wahini]

1. They have underground mines in Illinois? Who knew?

[mahatmakanejeeves]

3. On March 25, 1947, there was an explosion at the Centralia No. 5 coal mine.

Mon Mar 25, 2024: On this day, March 25, 1947, there was an explosion at the Centralia No. 5 coal mine.

[nocoincidences]

7. Southern Illinois is full of coal mines

It is one of the big coal mining areas in America--for a couple of centuries now. I grew up in a small town there and the entire town and area were undermined and sink holes would appear unexpectedly. My grandfather was a coal miner and my father sold equipment used in coal mines, like roof bolts.

[2naSalit]

9. Lots of mining in that part of the state...

This is a limestone mine. I have been in a few in the region because some of them have refitted some shafts to accommodate cold storage facilities. It's kind of creepy driving around in them in a semi, it's very dark, only your headlights and whatever else you have and you can hear large machines racing around somewhere but you have no idea where they are. The only way to see the dock you back into is when they open the door so you can see it and the reflecting stripes around it.

There are several in IL, MO and KS.

[Grins]

2. Wild video!! Watch it. NM

[CurtEastPoint]

4. I swear she said 'My bush has the night off.'

[TrueBlueNV]

8. 😆

😂 That’s what I heard, too!!!

[usonian]

5. Well, that would make soccer more interesting.

Mind the sand trap!

A boon to the passing game!

[mitch96]

6. That could ruin your day. We have quite a few sinkhole areas in Florida...no mines just fenestrated limestone

[Warpy]

10. The one thing common to this part of Illinois and Florida

is limestone. Mining it under the field probably didn't help, but the stuff is water soluble over time. A slow leak in a water pipe, possibly the field's sprinkler system, could have eaten enough of the rock between the field and the mine to cause this collapse.

They were just lucky it happened late enough for people to see it but early enough that no one was on that field.

[sl8]

11. Field was atop an active limestone mine:

https://www.npr.org/2024/06/28/g-s1-6955/giant-sinkhole-soccer-field

New Frontier Materials Bluff City said the sinkhole resulted from “surface subsidence” at its underground mine in city, located about 25 miles (40 kilometers) north of St. Louis along the Mississippi River.

The collapse was reported to the federal Mine Safety and Health Administration, as required, company spokesman Matt Barkett said. He told The Associated Press the limestone mine is located about 170 feet (52 meters) below ground and it’s his understanding that it runs under the city park where the sinkhole appeared.

“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," Barkett said in a statement. “We will work with the city to remediate this issue as quickly and safely as possible to ensure minimal impact on the community.”

[BlueWaveNeverEnd]

12. wow