Illinois cave-in creates huge sinkhole in soccer field

A ground cave-in in Alton, Illinois, opened a sinkhole in a soccer field at the town’s Gordon Moore Park.

The hole opened at 10 a.m. Wednesday.

“No one was on the field at the time and no one was hurt, and that's the most important thing,” Alton Mayor David Goins told The Telegraph.

The surface caved in above a limestone mine operated by New Frontier Materials.

“The impacted area has been secured and will remain off limits for the foreseeable future while inspectors and experts examine the mine and conduct repairs. We will work with the city to remediate this issue as quickly and safely as possible,” New Frontier Materials spokesman Matt Barkett told The Associated Press.

The hole is at least 100 feet wide and 100 feet deep, all above the mine's ceiling, according to The Telegraph.

“It looks like something out of a movie, right? It looks like a bomb went off,” Alton Parks and Recreation Department Director Michael Haynes told St. Louis NBC affiliate KSDK.

New Frontier Materials forwarded the case to the Department of Labor’s Mine Safety and Health Administration as legally required.