Sinkhole swallows part of football field in the US: the incident was caught on camera

A park in Alton was closed after a huge sinkhole swallowed part of a football field on Wednesday morning. The city of Alton, Illinois, is located about 30 kilometers north of St. Louis, Missouri.

CCTV footage obtained by CBS captured the moment the sinkhole opened in Gordon Moore Park. The footage shows the stadium's lighting tower falling and a pile of debris rising into the air.

"It was surreal. It was like watching a movie where the ground just goes away," said Michael Haynes, director of the city's Parks and Recreation Department.

The drone footage shows a large hole, more than 30 meters wide and about 15 meters deep. The collapse is believed to have been caused by an active mine.

"Mines have been here and in this area for decades. This issue has never been raised before, so I was told it was an anomaly. We'll wait until the investigation is complete," Haynes said.

According to Haynes, the football fields where the collapse occurred were added to the park in 2019 and cost more than $1 million. He did not expect the city to have to pay for repairs.

All planned events have been canceled and Gordon Moore Park has been closed "while the investigation into the failure is completed," Alton Parks and Recreation said on social media.

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