A soccer field in an Illinois city was partially swallowed up by a sinkhole earlier this week and the harrowing moment was caught on camera.
Not only did a massive section of the field at a city park in the city of Alton collapse but a light post that had been installed in the center of the field was taken by the earth.
A security camera at the Gordon F. Moore Community Park caught the moment the ground gave way on Wednesday morning at around 8:30 a.m.:
ALTON SINKHOLE — Security video from Gordon F. Moore Community Park shows a sinkhole open up at the soccer fields and swallow a massive light pole.
The sinkhole opened Wednesday morning. No injuries were reported. pic.twitter.com/JLxV0CK5b8
— Joe Millitzer (@jmillitzer) June 26, 2024
No injuries were reported in the incident, which is being blamed on mining operations that were taking place beneath the field.
Workers from a nearby quarry had been digging beneath the park, according to KTVI-TV in St. Louis.
New Frontier Materials, which operates the quarry, told the outlet it had dispatched engineers to assess the sinkhole and to determine the best solution for repairing the now-useless field.
“We will work with the city to remediate this issue as quickly and safely as possible to ensure minimal impact on the community,” company spokesman Matt Barkett said.
Have you ever lost anything to a sinkhole?
It is unclear if there is any further danger but the field is closed and police are posted up at the park to ensure no one wanders into the massive hole – which is estimated to be roughly 100 feet wide and at least 50 feet deep.
Per KTVI, the mine beneath the field was at a depth of 150 feet.
A stunning drone video taken from above the sinkhole has gone viral on social media:
MASSIVE SINKHOLE: A massive sinkhole suddenly emerged in the heart of an Illinois soccer field.
Drone video showed the substantial hole, approximately 100 feet wide, in the turf at Gordon Moore Park in Alton, IL: https://t.co/GjSlUFfX07 pic.twitter.com/20DWact0K5
— FOX Weather (@foxweather) June 27, 2024
Michael Haynes, Alton’s director of Parks & Recreation, spoke to KTVI about the sinkhole and said it had been determined that the rest of the park was safe to use.
“The rest of the park is open,” Haynes stated.
“Just not the parking lots around the soccer field. The rest of the ball diamonds and golf course will remain open,” he added.
As for the moment the hole opened up Haynes said, “At the surface, it was all at once.”
He concluded, “It all went. Actually, one of our lights was in the middle and it’s all gone.”
Alton is located on the east side of the Mississippi River just a few miles northeast of the St. Louis metro area.
The city is home to an estimated 25,000 people.
