Failed water main or mineshaft most likely culprits as hole opens up in the village of Godstone
Residents of Godstone in Surrey have been evacuated from their homes amid fears that two large sinkholes in their high street could trigger a gas explosion. Here we look at what causes sinkholes, whether they are becoming more common and what can be done to prevent them.
Continue reading...Residents near Tokyo question slow pace of effort to rescue 74-year-old as workers race to build 30-metre ramp
Fears are growing for a truck driver who has spent three days trapped inside a sinkhole in Japan, as rescue workers started building a ramp in a desperate attempt to reach him.
The 74-year-old, who has not been named, became trapped when the sinkhole opened up in a road near Tokyo on Tuesday, swallowing him and his two-tonne truck.
Continue reading...Attempts in Japan to retrieve the man were temporarily halted early on Wednesday after a second sinkhole appeared
Rescue workers in Japan are battling water leaks, gas pipes and unstable ground as they attempt to reach a man whose truck fell into a sinkhole near Tokyo two days ago.
The hole, which is reportedly 10 metres across and 10 metres deep, opened up at an intersection in Yashio, Saitama prefecture, on Tuesday morning, swallowing the 74-year-old truck driver and his two-tonne vehicle.
Continue reading...Officials say it is too dangerous to send in divers to look for the Indian woman who has now been missing for eight days
The search for an Indian tourist who was swallowed by a sinkhole in Malaysia’s capital has stalled after being deemed “too risky”.
Vijaya Lakshmi Gali was walking along a road in Kuala Lumpur on 23 August when the pavement beneath her suddenly collapsed. She plunged into an 8-metre-deep (26ft) sinkhole and disappeared. Rescuers have found no trace of her so far except for her slippers.
Continue reading...Excavator brought in as search continues for woman buried when eight metre hole opened in pavement
A woman is missing after falling into an eight metre (26ft) deep sinkhole in the Kuala Lumpur city centre on Friday after the pavement caved in, burying her, Malaysian authorities said.
It happened in the Dang Wangi area of the Malaysian capital. The local police chief, Sulizmie Affendy Sulaiman, said that based on witness accounts, the woman was walking along the pavement when the earth suddenly collapsed beneath her.
Continue reading...No one was present when the sinkhole, 100ft wide and 30ft deep, suddenly collapsed the field
A vast sinkhole has dramatically appeared in middle of an Illinois soccer pitch that was laid above a limestone mine, just days after amateur teams stopped using the grounds for practice.
The collapse happened at Gordon Moore Park in Alton, Illinois, about 18 miles north of St Louis, Missouri, on Wednesday. The sinkhole appeared to be 100ft (30m) wide and 30ft (9m) deep. No injuries have been reported but all sports have been cancelled.
Continue reading...The 2m-wide hole opened up suddenly on a footpath at Whakarewarewa tourist village in Rotorua, in central North Island
An Australian woman has been seriously injured after she fell into a geothermal sinkhole that opened up in a popular tourist village in New Zealand.
The woman fell into the two-metre-wide fumarole when it opened suddenly on a footpath near the entrance of Whakarewarewa thermal village in Rotorua, in central North Island.
Continue reading...Scientists believe site in Guangxi with trees up to 40 metres tall may contain undiscovered species
An ancient forest has been found at the bottom of a giant sinkhole in China, with trees up to 40 metres (130ft) tall.
Scientists believe it could contain undiscovered plant and animal species.
Continue reading...A Jerusalem hospital parking lot has collapsed into a sinkhole, Israeli police say, but no casualties have been reported. Security video distributed by the Jerusalem Shaare Zedek Medical Center, showed cars falling into the sinkhole. Israeli police, backed by fire and rescue services, blocked the roads surrounding the hospital to conduct searches in the area. Hospital officials said they believed the collapse to have been triggered by a highway tunnel being dug nearby.
Continue reading...A sinkhole measuring 2,000 sq metres has opened up in the visitors' car park of a hospital in Naples, forcing the temporary closure of a nearby residence for recovering coronavirus patients because of a power cut.
A number vehicles fell into the sinkhole in the otherwise empty car park, but the hospital remained operational and no injuries were reported
Continue reading...Nearby Italian residence for Covid-19 patients had to close temporarily because of electricity cuts
A giant sinkhole has opened up in the car park of a hospital in Naples, Italy, forcing the temporary closure of a nearby residence for recovering Covid-19 patients because the electricity was cut.
Operations at the Hospital of the Sea were not affected, and firefighters said no one appeared to be injured. The sinkhole consumed a few cars in the hospital’s otherwise empty visitors’ car park on Friday.
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