Sinkhole Guatemala Baffles Scientists

By Naiwrita Sinha, Gaea News Network
Wednesday, June 2, 2010

GUATEMALA CITY, GUATEMALA (GaeaTimes.com)- A huge sinkhole that appeared in Guatemala on Saturday swallowed up a three storey cloth mill. However, certain reports suggest that a couple of other buildings might have also been swallowed by the Guatemala sinkhole. However, the scientists have not yet been able to fathom what might have caused the sinkhole, although it is obvious that the floodwater from the Agatha tropical storm had caused the formation. Scientists are of the opinion that the sinkhole, like all the others, formed after part of the top soil sank below owing to weeks or even years of pressure from water and other agents.

The Guatemala sinkhole is almost 66 feet wide and about thirty storeys deep. The scientists have claimed that they would only be able to ascertain the real cause of the formation of the sinkhole after they descend into the almost bottomless pit and investigate. On the other hand, they have ruled out the possibilities of an earthquake being behind the formation of the sinkhole, and they also assert that it almost certainly not caused by the widening of a geological fault.

However, there is some cause of concern about the Guatemala sinkhole, as this has occurred just a few miles away from another sinkhole that had occurred in 2007, suggesting that the soil formation in the area might be weak, or might gradually be weakening due to some reason. The collapse of the ground occurred on Saturday, leaving the citizens of the area naturally spooked and the scientists completely baffled. Initially, it was being believed that the storm was the reason behind the sinkhole, as Agatha had caused hillsides to collapse and rivers to burst their banks.

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