Huge Sinkhole Slowly Swallowing a Texas Town
By Charlie Brett
17:07, May 8th 2008
31 votes
Vote this story

A massive sinkhole is under supervision as it has been swallowing up equipment and vehicles since surfacing outside Daisetta in southeast Texas.

No human casualties or damaged homes have been reported.

Investigators with the Texas Railroad Commission were checking pipelines in the area and trying to determine if any regulations have been violated, said agency spokeswoman Ramona Nye, according to FOXnews.

So far, no pollutants have been detected, as officials with Texas Natural Resources and Conservation were monitoring air and water quality.

“Right now we’re not concerned about any kind of explosion or any kind of hazard. We are monitoring some other things around the area to make sure everyone’s OK,” said Tom Branch, coordinator of the Liberty County Office of Emergency Management. The hole gets bigger and bigger and no one is really sure why.

“The road that drives out into the oil field, there’s more cracks showing up in that so we’re just trying to take every precaution and get people back ‘cause we don’t know exactly what’s going to happen with it, said Hugh Bishop with the Liberty County Sheriff's Department as a local source reported (KVUE).

Television news footage showed a tractor, some oil field equipment and some telephone poles falling into the sinkhole. The sinkhole has supposedly grown to at least 600 feet long and 200 feet deep by Wednesday night.

Officials say that the cause may be the fact that Daisetta sits on a salt dome, one of the most common types of traps for oil and that the salt dome collapsed causing the ground to cave in.



© 2007 - 2008 - eFluxMedia
dotclear

Other News in

Dolly Shows Its Tropical Storm Like Fangs in Texas

Hurricane Dolly made its way into South Texas and northern Mexico on Wednesday, flooding the Rio Grande Valley with rain, knocking out power in hundreds of homes and tearing down the roofs of...

6.8 Earth Quake Jolts Northern Japan Injuring 102 People

6.8 Earth Quake Jolts Northern Japan Injuring 102 People

A powerful earthquake struck Japan on early Thursday morning injuring as much as 102 people and wrecking 31 buildings in the northern regions of the island, authorities said.The U.S. Geological...

Jefferson County Sheriff Searching for Man Who Opened Fire Inside Bank

Jefferson County Sheriff Searching for Man Who Opened Fire Inside Bank

Police are searching for a man who opened fire inside a credit union and then fled the scene in a stolen car this morning (Wednesday). Jefferson County Sheriff's office spokesman Jim Shires said the...

Bear Attacks And Injures Woman In Kern County

Bear Attacks And Injures Woman In Kern County

A bear mauled and severely injured a woman who was walking her two dogs in a rural area in Southern California on Tuesday. The victim managed to escape and drive herself three miles to a nearby...

Tugboat-Tanker Collision Closes Mississippi River at New Orleans

A collision between a tugboat pushing a barge and a 600-foot tanker forced authorities to close a 29-mile stretch (47 kilometers) of the Mississippi River at New Orleans, the Coast Guard said. The...

dotclear
Latest videos in World
War victims hail Karadzic...
Chavez meets with Russian...
Hurricane Dolly blowing closer
McCain charges media bias
Now Karadzic will face verdict

dotclear
World You are here: World
» World   » Business   
E-mail To A Friend Print RSS Text size: Decrease font size Increase font size
dotclear
dotclear
dotclear
Most Popular in World
Update: Salmonella Found In Mexico-Grown Jalapeño PepperUpdate: Salmonella Found In Mexico-Grown Jalapeño Pepper

» read full story
dotclear

Interested In This Topic?

News Alert will keep you informed. Find out more.
dotclear
Photos Gallery
dotclear
Today's Latest News
Bale Keeps Silent At “Dark Knight’s” Spain PremiereBale Keeps Silent At “Dark Knight’s” Spain Premiere

» read full story
dotclear