Russian villagers alarmed to find 105-foot-wide sinkhole near their homes overnight
Mushroom pickers from a Russian village were left shocked after they arrived at their farm and found a 165 ft deep hole had opened up in front of them. It is believed that the sinkhole, 105 feet wide, is big enough to fit a 16-story building. While the emergence of the sinkhole has not caused any damages so far, people of Neledino village in the Nizhny Novgorod region are worried that the sinkhole may increase in size and swallow their homes when they are fast asleep.
As reported by Daily Mail, Russian emergency experts say the phenomenon is natural and were not caused by explosions or eruptions. These sinkholes form from the dissolution of soluble rocks such as limestone, dolomite, and gypsum.
"It was pure luck that no-one got injured," said a local resident. "We didn't hear anything when it happened. But we got really scared as the hole is really huge, and to think that something like this might suddenly appear anywhere is frightening. The whole Nizhny Novgorod region got shaken by this sinkhole."
Yelena, who lives in Neledino, stated that though experts have examined the sinkhole and pronounced that it poses no danger to the villagers she is still worried.
"The sinkhole is so close to our village. There is no guarantee that another one will not appear right in the middle of it - or worse under a house. We are very concerned indeed." At the same time, she added that the large sinkhole posses a great amount of threat for children who are often fascinated by this and may fall down in it.
"Children have seen the hole and many are worried the same thing might suddenly happen when they are asleep at night," she further added. The Emergencies Ministry has fenced off the hole for now. However, this is not the first time that a sinkhole has emerged in Russia overnight. In 2015, a giant sinkhole appeared near a mining town in the Perm region. To make things worse, the sinkhole grew in size over the course of 10 months.
The sinkhole was reported to be 120m (400ft) across and up to 80m (250ft) deep. When it was first discovered last November (2014) the sinkhole measured 20m by 30m. The exact reason for the sinkhole to emerge was not identified, however, the reason for it was probably linked to a nearby potash mine. The sinkhole caused a lot of damage to the homes of people as various buildings stood near the sinkhole.
While the sinkhole did not pose a threat when it first emerged in 2014, as it started growing in size, it swallowed many buildings with it. However, in the Perm region of Russia, spotting a sinkhole was not such a surprise as it was for people of Neledino village as there are a number of mines that are placed in the region.