Mexico

Massive Sinkhole Threatens to Swallow Nearby House in Mexico

Spectators have gathered to watch the sinkhole grow, but police have put up barricades to keep them at a safe distance

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A massive sinkhole measuring 75 yards wide opened on a farm in southeastern Mexico and is threatening to swallow a nearby home, NBC News reports.

The crater, which appeared Saturday in Santa Maria Zacatepec, in the state of Puebla, began at just over 5 yards and continues to grow. Sinkholes form when groundwater circulates underground, dissolving the rock beneath the surface, before collapsing suddenly when "the underground spaces just get too big," according to the United States Geological Survey

The home near the site was evacuated. Magdalena and Heriberto Sánchez, the owners of the residence, reported hearing a thunderous sound before finding the huge pit.

"At 6 o'clock we heard like thunder and we did not think this was it and then my in-laws realized it and when I got closer, I saw that the earth sank and how the water was bubbling and I panicked," Magdalena Sánchez told El Sol de México.

Read the full story on NBCNews.com

Surveillance footage from China shows two pedestrians walking on a sidewalk as it collapses.
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