Startled authorities have begun investigating a huge sinkhole that mysteriously appeared near a copper mine.
Geology specialists in northern Chile have started inspections after the large hole, thought to measure around 25 metres (82 feet) in diameter, opened near the Canadian Lundin Mining site at Alcaparrosa over the weekend.
The sinkhole, which is about 200 metres (656 feet) deep, is located about 665 kilometres (413 miles) to the north of the nation's capital Santiago.
The National Service of Geology and Mining became aware of the sinkhole on Saturday and has since sent specialist personnel to the area, according to the agency's director David Montenegro.
He said in a statement: "There is a considerable distance, approximately 200 metres, to the bottom.
"We haven't detected any material down there, but we have seen the presence of a lot of water."
A number of areas surrounding the hole have now been closed, including a section stretching from the entrance t o the work site of the Alcaparrosa mine.
A spokesperson from Lundin Mining said on Monday (August 1) that the incident had not affected workers or any members of the local community.
A statement read: "The closest home is more than 600 meters (1,969 feet) away while any populated area or public service are almost a kilometre away from the affected zone".
Lundin Mining owns 80% of the site in Alcaparrosa, with the rest belonging to Japan's Sumitomo Corporation.
Back in May, explorers in China said a primitive forest at the bottom of a giant sinkhole could potentially contain as-yet unidentified plants and animals.
An expedition team in the Guangxi region to the south of the country found the sinkhole, which contained an ancient forest with trees up to 40 metres (130ft) tall.
The site is among 30 sinkholes in Leye County and is the largest at 306 metres (1,004ft) long, 150 metres (490ft) wide and 192 metres (630ft) deep.
Zhang Yuanhai, a senior engineer at the Institute of Karst Geology of the China Geological Survey, told the state news agency Xinhua that the site had three caves in its walls and a primitive forest at the bottom.
