Massive sinkhole appears in Mexico and keeps growing

A gigantic sinkhole of about 300 feet in diameter has opened up in a farmland in central Mexico. The hole has rapidly expanded since it first appeared in early June 2021 and is threatening to swallow a nearby house.

The sinkhole is situated in the state of Puebla, Mexico, and is around 20 meters deep, said state governor Miguel Barbosa Huerta. Authorities have evacuated the family that lives close to the sinkhole.

The sinkhole measured five meters in diameter when it first appeared, then grew quickly in just a few hours, according to reports. Authorities think that the sinkhole has appeared due to the softening of the field and the extraction of groundwater, which softened the subsoil.

Sinkholes occur when the ground can no longer support the land surface above it, according to the United States Geological Survey. This can happen for a number of reasons, including the erosion of the rock beneath the land surface as groundwater passes through it, leaving a void which the surface collapses into.

At Least six people died after a massive sinkhole swallowed up a bus picking up passengers in northwestern China in January 2020. Officials from public bodies, including the national water commission, will now carry out an investigation into what happened. This process includes soil studies and could take up to 30 days.