Gigantic Sinkhole Swallows Soccer Field In Illinois

A huge sinkhole has swallowed part of a soccer field built over a mine in Illinois.

Surveillance footage posted on social media shows the ground suddenly caving in, leaving behind a massive crater.

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The hole, which appeared on Wednesday morning at Gordon Moore Park in the town of Alton, is reportedly around 100 feet wide and 30 to 50 feet deep.

Officials said no one was injured, according to NewsNation, but a stadium light was swallowed.

Alton Parks and Recreation said on Facebook that Gordon Moore Park has been closed while an investigation is carried out.

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Building supply company New Frontier Materials told First Alert 4 that the sinkhole was created by subsidence from the underground mine.

Alton Parks and Recreation Department Director Michael Haynes said: "The mines have been here and in this area for decades and decades. It's never been brought up before so I'm told it's an anomaly. We'll wait until the investigation is complete."

"It was surreal. Kind of like a movie where the ground just falls out from underneath you," he said. "Hopefully, we can find a remedy and get plans together to move forward before we get into our busy season out here again."

The soccer fields were added to the park in 2019, costing more than $1 million.

Local resident Richard Baird said the incident was "startling" and a "very sad occasion for the community."

"Thousands upon thousands of people are impacted by this," he said. "Parents and their children who participate as athletes."

New Frontier Materials' full statement said: "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."

Newsweek has contacted Michael Haynes, via his work email address, to ask for any further updates and when the park is set to re-open.

Earlier this week, a sinkhole appeared in a road in San Diego after the city was hit by heavy rain and flash floods.

Images on social media show the big, deep hole in the ground with crews working around it.

The City of San Diego posted on X, formerly Twitter: "Due to construction work, Miramar Road westbound lanes between Cabot and Dowdy drives are currently closed to through traffic. Westbound traffic is being routed to adjacent surface streets. Dowdy Drive is also closed at the intersection with Miramar."

Scientists recently pinpointed the deepest underwater sinkhole in the world.

The Taam Ja' Blue Hole, off the coast of Mexico, was initially thought to be 900 feet deep when it was first discovered in 2021.

But, according to new research published in the journal Frontiers in Marine Science, it has been discovered that it is actually at least 480 feet deeper at 1,380 feet below sea level.

This makes it 393 feet deeper than the previous record-holding blue hole: the Sansha Yongle Blue Hole, or Dragon Hole, in the South China Sea, which is 987 feet deep.