It is an area the size of a swimming pool: In the middle of Thuringia, Schmalkalden has opened a huge hole in the ground in a residential area. A car crashed into the crater, the residents of the adjacent houses were brought to safety.
Schmalkalden / Suhl - a nearly 40 by 15 meters large crater has formed in the middle of a residential area in Thuringia, Schmalkalden. According to police the earth sank suddenly during the night approximately 3:00 clock. A local resident had heard noises and alerted the police.
According to initial estimates from the police, the crater is 20 to 25 meters deep. At least one car crashed into the hole. No one was injured, according to initial information. 23 people from five surrounding buildings had to leave their homes. Further evacuations are to follow, according to the police spokesman.
At several houses, according to a police spokesman revealed cracks in the facade. Five garages at the edge of the crater were threatening to slip. The area within a radius of 500 meters around the hole in the ground has been cordoned off. Police and rescue workers were using a large array of applications. Mayor Thomas Kaminski said MDR 1 Radio Thüringen: "This is beyond all imagination."
After a power outage due to sinkhole gas and water have been stopped. "There is no greater rush emerged. The people are quite calm under the circumstances," said a police spokeswoman.
"People are safe and are cared for in part by the crisis intervention services, some of them are staying with relatives already," said police spokesman Fred n-tv television the hunter.
The cause of the sinkhole is still unclear. A spokesman for the Thuringian Ministry of Environment said, was in the area during the Middle Ages, salt was obtained. However, one could rule out according to initial findings that the crater was a consequential loss of salt mining. For further statements about the cause it was too early.
With a Thuringian capital of Erfurt in the country requested helicopter want to get the forces from the air an overview. Moreover, specialists will investigate the state mining office and the crash site geologists. According to the police is not to expect further large drops. However, give the soil on the crater rim for even more. First, it was said, the crater was about 30 by 30 feet tall.
By 15 clock do Government and firefighters at a press conference to announce details.
