Sinkhole swallows Illinois soccer field as mine caves in beneath it

A sinkhole measuring approximately 100 feet in diameter and 30-50 feet in depth suddenly appeared in an Illinois soccer field on Wednesday, June 26, and was caught on video by CCTV.

Furthermore, the sinkhole formed at about 9:15 a.m. at the Gordon Moore Park, which is located in the city of Alton, some 18 miles north of St. Louis, Missouri.

Matt Barkett, a spokesman for the mine’s operating company stated that "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".

In addition to this, Mr. Barkett also said that "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".

Michael Haynes, Recreation Department director for Alton Parks said that the mines have been present in the area for decades and decades and have never caused any issues to the park before.

Mr. Haynes also said that they are waiting on the outcome of the investigation that is currently ongoing on the event, by engineers and geologists, as well as how they will follow the expert’s lead on determining what how to fix what happened and prevent any similar future incidents.

Finally, as The Guardian reports, studies show that the occurrence of sinkholes has been increasing due to climate change, according to scientific studies.