A massive sinkhole measuring about 300-foot-wide has opened in farmland in the state of Puebla on Saturday, in Mexico. The earth has swallowed around 70,000 square feet of the area,as per El Sol de Mexico. The giant cavity was only 15 feet in diameter when it first appeared. It has been expanding rapidly since it was first seen.
The authorities were intimated about the occurrence on the same day. They visited the spot and examined the area thoroughly. The state civil engineers and other agencies have estimated that a geological fault may have caused the giant sinkhole. Beatriz Manrique, the secretary of the Environment of Puebla, elaborated that although it is still too early to know the reasons for the creation of the sinkhole, they are of the view that softening of the farmland and extraction of aquifers could have caused it.
He further explained that the hole started opening on Saturday and it was not more than 5 metres in diameters. However, in just 24 hours, it widened up to 30 metres.
The owners of the house, who moved to the place in May with their two children and parents, reported, "At 6 o'clock we heard like thunder and we did not think this was it and then my in-laws realized it and when I got closer, I saw that the earth sank and how the water was bubbling and I panicked."
The giant ditch has posed a threat to the family living in the house on the farmland. The house, within a hundred meters where the sinkhole appeared, asked the state government for its help so as to save their heritage. The authorities have evacuated the family from the house due to the risk and fenced around the sinkhole to prevent any tragedy.
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