Giant sinkhole could swallow homes, cause explosion - 13abc.com Toledo (OH) News, Weather and Sports

Giant sinkhole could swallow homes, cause explosion

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LOUISIANA -

A giant sinkhole in Louisiana is threatening nearby homes and a well containing one-and-a-half million barrels of liquid butane.

The sinkhole dropped about a week ago, it's now 320 feet wide. In some places reaches more than 400 feet deep.

Several hundred residents have been told to evacuate their homes. The sinkhole sits over a salt dome cavern. It's believed that the cavern collapsed, causing the sinkhole.

Louisiana's Department of Natural Resources says the company mining the salt dome, Texas Brine, was trying to expand the mine when it cut into the cavern last year long before the sinkhole appeared.

But the collapse is also next to a well containing more than a million gallons of liquid butane, a highly flammable vapor if it's released. Local officials say if that happens, it could cause catastrophic problems.

John Achee, Jr. Has organized a community advocacy group to get answers from state regulators and the mining company that owns the underground salt dome.

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