--- title: "Alarming Video Shows Sinkhole Devouring Sports Field" description: "An almost perfectly round, 100-foot sinkhole opened up in an Illinois park this week, a terrifying incident that was caught on camera." date: "2024-06-30" modified: "2024-06-30" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/alarming-video-sinkhole-soccer-field" categories: - "Science & Energy" tags: - "illinois" - "sinkhole" - "the digest" --- # Alarming Video Shows Sinkhole Devouring Sports Field ![An almost perfectly round, 100-foot sinkhole opened up in an Illinois park this week, a terrifying incident that was caught on camera.]() *\Image: 618 Drone Service via Storyful\* ## Dark Knight Rises An almost perfectly round, 100-foot sinkhole opened up in an Illinois park this week, a terrifying incident that was caught on camera. Astonishing [f]()[ootage]() from the town of Alton shows a massive light pole between two sports fields being fully consumed by the ground below, leaving behind a billowing cloud of dust. Fortunately, nobody got hurt, as [*NBC News* reports](). "No one was on the field at the time and no one was hurt, and that’s the most important thing," Alton's mayor David Goins [told the *Alton Telegraph*](). According to Alton Parks recreation director Michael Haynes, the sinkhole appeared due to a "mine collapse deep underground," telling *NBC* that a limestone mine operated by Springfield, Illinois-based New Frontier Materials was to blame. "It looks like something out of a movie, right?" Haynes [told *NBC* affiliate *KSDK*](). "It looks like a bomb went off." https://youtu.be/-xtGJzLmnmM ## Touch Down It's a highly unfortunate development for the local Gordon Moore Park community. "It’s shocking to see especially right in the middle of our fields here that we just spent a million and a half dollars on five years ago to complete the new turf, soccer and football fields and concession stand next to it," Haynes told *KSDK*. "It’s a little disheartening." New Frontier Materials is now investigating the situation, and it remains unclear if it'll have to foot the bill for repairs. "The impacted area has been secured and will remain off limits for the foreseeable future while inspectors and experts examine the mine and conduct repairs," the company told *KSDK* in a statement. "No one was injured in the incident, which has been reported to officials at the Mine Safety Health Administration (MSHA) in accordance with applicable regulations." "The mines have been here and in this area for decades and decades," Haynes [told local news outlet *First Alert 4*](). "It’s never been brought up before so I’m told it’s an anomaly. We’ll wait until the investigation is complete." **More on sinkholes:** *[Scientists Say Underwater Cave So Deep They Can't Find the Bottom]()* ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()