Football pitch swallowed up by 100ft-wide sinkhole

CCTV cameras have caught the moment a huge sinkhole opened up in the middle of a football stadium.

A mine collapsed in Alton, Illinois on Wednesday causing the ground to collapse at Gordon Moore City Park.

The hole is estimated to be at least 100ft wide and up to 50ft deep, and as it collapsed the hole swallowed up one of the stadium’s lights.

There were people working in the mine when it collapsed, but no injuries have been reported.

Michael Haynes, director of the city’s Parks and Recreation department, told local media: ‘The mines have been here and in this area for decades and decades.

‘It’s never been brought up before so I’m told it’s an anomaly. We’ll wait until the investigation is complete.

The sinkhole is huge (Picture: KSDK News)

The moment the ground collapsed was caught on a CCTV camera (Picture: KSDK News)

The football stadium has been forced to close (Picture: KSDK News)

‘It was surreal. Kind of like a movie where the ground just falls out from underneath you.’

Turf fields were added to the stadium at a cost of $1million (£790,000), but it’s hoped the damager can be repaired before the stadium’s busy season kicks in.

Michael added that he hopes the city won’t have to pay for any remedial work.

The impacted area has been cordoned off and is currently off-limits while inspectors and experts examine the mine and conduct repairs.

The incident was reported to the Mine Safety and Health Administration, who said: ‘We will work with the city to remediate this issue as quickly and safely as possible to ensure minimal impact on the community.’

The Metro East area has seen a number of mine collapses in recent years, with a grocery store, a school and a skating rink all forced to closed down.

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