Villagers shaken up by sinking earth

A sinkhole opens up in Dachengqiao village of Nengxiang county, Central China's Hunan province, June 10, 2010. Frequent appearance of sinkholes in the village has neighbors jittery. Some 20 meters across, almost a perfect circle at its gaping mouth, the first hole opened up at a primary school this January and has expanded to 80 meters in diameter and swallowed a building. At midnight four months later, two wire poles collapsed when a paddy field suddenly caved in, followed by the most recent sinkhole, which swallowed a squat toilet in a villager's yard. Local policemen have merely fenced off the area. Experts still haven't determined what caused the huge hole to open up or whether it might keep growing. Neighbors and local media speculate there is a direct link between the sinkholes and the rains that started last month. [Photo/rednet.cn]