'Gate to Hell' sinkhole opens near Russian ski resort [ad_1]

Torch bearer Kamil Garichev holding an Olympic torch is photographed by onlookers as he rides in a ski lift in the Sheregesh winter sports resort in Tashtagol, Kemerovo region, western Siberia, Friday, Nov. 29, 2013. The 65,000-kilometer (39,000 mile) Sochi torch relay, which started on Oct. 7, is the longest in Olympic history. The torch has traveled to the North Pole on a Russian nuclear-powered icebreaker and has even been flown into space. (Online News 72h Photo/Ilnar Salakhiev) Ilnar Salakhiev/Online News 72h

'Gate to Hell' sinkhole opens near Russian ski resort

Cami Mondeaux

December 12, 11:31 AM December 12, 11:31 AM

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An enormous 100-foot-wide sinkhole nicknamed the “Gate to Hell” has opened up near a popular Russian ski resort, prompting a handful of evacuations and a pause in operations until further notice.

The sinkhole collapsed at a nearby mine in Siberia’s Kemerovo region that is owned by a British company linked to billionaire Roman Abramovich. Aerial footage of the collapse shows the sinkhole formed near the side of a road, with at least one house teetering toward the crater.

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Residents of four nearby houses were evacuated over the past few days due to warnings about the collapse, and no casualties have been reported as of Monday. Those residents have since been resettled elsewhere, local officials said.

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The collapse wasn’t entirely unexpected, officials said, as they were able to predict the natural disaster and evacuate homes before the collapse. Operations at the Sheregesh mine have been suspended until further notice.

The sinkhole comes after the mine recently announced a major investment, but it’s expected those plans may be put on hold as officials work to refill the crater.

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