Video Shows Massive Sinkhole Swallow Up Town Soccer Park
Shocking video shows a massive sinkhole opening up and swallowing an Illinois soccer field on Wednesday morning, along with bleachers and a light pole. The incident occurred at Gordon Moore Park in Alton, IL, leaving behind an approximately 100-foot-wide, 50-foot-deep hole in the aftermath.
In what looks like something straight out of a disaster movie, surveillance video captured the moment the ground gave way, dropping straight down into the earth. The entire light pole was sucked into the hole, and moments later, a giant cloud of dirt and debris could be seen emanating from it.
Thankfully, no one was on the field at the time and there were no injuries reported, although benched players would normally sit in the immediate areas during games.
Michael Haynes, director of Alton Parks and Recreation told KSDK 5 News that that the sinkhole was likely a result of an underground mine collapse, but said that it was an "anomaly" as the mines have been there for decades without issue.
"We’re waiting to hear back from the mine and see what the geologists and the engineers have to say about it," Haynes said. "We’ll follow their lead on where to go from here. They can determined what happened, why it happened, how to prevent it, and how we fix what has happened here."
“There are two soccer fields slashed football right next to each other and it happened kind of right between them, so half of each field sort of swallowed," he explained. "It’s shocking to see especially right in the middle of our fields here that we just spent a million and a half dollars on five years ago to complete the new turf, soccer and football fields and concession stand next to it. It’s a little disheartening."
Haynes noted that the park is closed in the evening and early morning, but realizes how much different the outcome could have been had it happened during peak hours. "I can’t imagine if there were a bunch of people out here," he added. "We’re fortunate."
Drone footage later captured the surreal scene, which shows the enormous sinkhole in a near perfect circle between the fields.
New Frontier Materials, which owns the underground mine that allegedly caused the collapse, issued a statement that an investigation was being carried out to determine what happened.
"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," the spokesperson said, noting that the incident was reported to Mine Safety Health Administration (MSHA) officials. "Safety is our top priority. We will work with the city to remediate this issue as quickly and safely as possible to ensure minimal impact on the community."
Alton Parks and Recreation likewise posted on social media Wednesday that the park would temporarily remain closed while the investigation was being completed. "Any scheduled events within the park are cancelled for today," it said. "We apologize for any inconvenience."