Video: Un enorme agujero terrestre 'traga casas' atemoriza a una localidad de Ucrania
Publicado: 29 abr 2015 16:20 GMT
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Video: Un enorme agujero terrestre 'traga casas' atemoriza a una localidad de Ucrania www.gismeteo.by
Un gigantesco agujero de 100 metros de diámetro mantiene en vilo a los habitantes de la localidad ucraniana de Solotvino ante la posibilidad de que su tamaño siga aumentando y 'engulla' sus viviendas y calles.
Una abertura en la superficie terrestre en la localidad de Solotvino (región de Zakarpatska, oeste de Ucrania) de 100 metros de diámetro y 60 de profundidad surgida a raíz de la acción del agua sobre las minas de sal tiene preocupados a sus residentes, informa 'The Daily Mail'. Los lugareños, que han pedido a las autoridades locales que intervengan, afirman que existen al menos cinco agujeros con estas características.
"Este enorme abismo se formó cerca de la aldea en un solo día. Tenía 60 metros de ancho y por lo menos 45 de profundidad, pero no deja de crecer", cuenta Leopold Uvarov, residente de la localidad.
Los problemas en esta región surgieron hace 220 años con la aparición de las primeras minas de sal. Cuando se cerraron, comenzaron a acumular gradualmente agua que a su vez ha ido disolviendo lentamente las formaciones rocosas subterráneas, creando lo que se conoce como un paisaje kárstico.
Ivan Prokop, un vecino de la localidad de 53 años, relata que comenzó a notar la formación de este tipo de agujeros en la zona hace 11 años y que comenzaron 'engulliendo' caminos, algunos jardines y hasta casas. "Al principio pensamos que era solo un agujero y se detendría, pero es evidente que toda la región finalmente se hundirá", sostiene.
Video: Un enorme agujero terrestre 'traga casas' atemoriza a una localidad de Ucrania www.gismeteo.by
"Este abismo no será el último que veamos. Habrá más. El agua se está acumulando en las antiguas minas, los depósitos de sal se están disolviendo y nuestra tierra seguirá desapareciendo", sentencia Prokop.
El experto Oleksandr Poshtuk, contratado por el Gobierno local para cerrar las minas, afirmó que la solución era llenar los túneles existentes con tierra, pero los residentes sostienen que este proceso se ralentizó hasta detenerse cuando se dieron cuenta de que les llevaría al menos siete años y que llenar todas las minas tendría un coste de alrededor 10 millones de dólares.
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Los funcionarios locales afirman que unas veinticinco familias ya han sido evacuadas, pero 130 familias más se niegan a abandonar su localidad al denunciar que el lugar que se les ha propuesto para que se trasladen se encuentra en una zona con agua contaminada.
Prabusire carsto-salina din Solotvino
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Gigantic 100-metre sinkhole leaves Ukrainian villagers terrified after reports it has swallowed up homes and looks likely to get even BIGGER
Residents demand government action to prevent their homes vanishing
Terrified teenager: 'It's scary. Our entire village can disappear at any stage'
Crater understood to have been caused by collapse of nearby salt mine
By SIMON TOMLINSON FOR MAILONLINE
PUBLISHED: 14:03 GMT, 29 April 2015 | UPDATED: 17:54 GMT, 29 April 2015
The liquidized salty water then drains away, leaving a huge underground cavern which, when it collapses, brings hundreds of thousands of tonnes of earth crashing into vast pits like this one.
Villagers say there are at least five of the holes, although this one pictured is by far the largest.
Spectacular 60 meter sinkhole swallows seven homes
The day the earth moved: Residents claim seven properties have already vanished into the huge crater
The day the earth moved: Residents claim seven properties have already vanished into the huge crater
Perilous: The hole is understood to have been caused by the collapse of a nearby salt mine
Perilous: The hole is understood to have been caused by the collapse of a nearby salt mine
It is creating what is known as a Karst landscape, formed from the dissolution of soluble rocks including limestone, dolomite and gypsum, and characterised by sinkholes.
Villager Leopold Uvarov, 38, said: 'This huge abyss formed near the village in just a day.
'It was around 60 metres wide and at least 45 metres deep, but it's growing all the time.'
Another villager, Ivan Prokop, 53, said they noticed the first sinkhole 11 years ago.
He claims it began by taking away roads, some gardens and had then started swallowing houses.
He added: 'The holes are getting closer to other houses all the time.'
He said that the last salt mine was closed in 2007 in Solotvino, but it did not stop the Karst erosion processes.
Villagers say there are at least five of the holes in the area, although this one pictured is by far the largest
Villagers say there are at least five of the holes in the area, although this one pictured is by far the largest
He said: 'At first, we thought it might just be one hole and it would stop, but it's clear the entire region will eventually sink.
'This abyss isn't the last one we will see. There will be more. The water is gathering in the old mines, the salt deposits are dissolving and our land will continue to vanish.'
Expert Oleksandr Poshtuk, who was employed by the local government to shut down the mines, said that the solution was to fill the tunnels with soil.
But villagers argue that this process had slowed down and then stopped when they realised it would cost around £10million to fill all of the mines take at least seven years.
Teenager Irina Zhygun, 17, said: 'It was really scary to stand on the edge and hear how stones are falling into the void. The reality is our entire village can vanish at any stage.'
Local officials say some two dozen families have already been moved, but 130 families are refusing to leave, saying the new settlement is in an area that has contaminated water and they will be no better off if they agree to the move.
Villager Boris Gedz, 67, a former miner, said: 'I am scared that I will end up falling into the ground as well, but I can't leave my house. My parents, I and my children grew up here.'
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