Caroline Pettey, Kevin S. Held and Patrick Clark

3 hours ago

ALTON, Illinois (KTVI) – Surveillance video from an Illinois park shows a sinkhole opening up beneath the $1.2 million soccer fields, swallowing a massive light pole.

“On the surface, everything was gone at once,” said Michael Haynes, director of Alton Parks & Recreation. “Everything went away.”

Haynes said there were problems underground in the mines under Fields 3 and 4 in Gordon F. Moore Community Park that caused the sinkhole around 8:30 a.m.

New Frontier Materials, a quarry that mines beneath the park, sent engineers on Wednesday to assess the situation.

Haynes was told workers would dig 150 feet beneath the soccer fields. He estimates the sinkhole is at least 50 feet deep and 100 feet wide. The park will rely on geologists and engineers to come up with a plan for how to proceed.

Matt Barkett, spokesman for New Frontier Materials, issued a statement Wednesday saying, “We will work with the city to resolve this issue as quickly and safely as possible to minimize impacts to the community.”

Another photography company, 618 Drone Service, captured the scene and later shared it on social media.

The park's new artificial turf was only laid in 2018.

Barriers and police on site ensure that onlookers stay away. But one thing is clear: the playing fields and parking lots will remain closed for some time.

“The rest of the park is open,” Haynes said. “Except for the parking lots around the soccer field. The rest of the baseball fields and the golf course remain open.”

No injuries were reported.