Investigation into Ottawa sinkhole continues
Saturday, February 22, 2014, 11:50 AM -
Officials are still working to determine the exact cause of the massive sinkhole that opened up in Ottawa on Friday.
Sinkholes are often caused by a leaking pipe, but the only water pipe near the hole is a sewer and there doesn't seem to be anything wrong with it.
Ottawa's newest sinkhole on Laurier st.
😟 pic.twitter.com/cpPjLvg6vR
— Σ. (@guccipajamas) February 21, 2014
The most obvious answer seems to be the tunneling that has been going on near the hole, but pending an investigation no one is willing to confirm yet.
Miners were the first to notice anything was wrong on Thursday night as some of the sediment was "falling off" the front of the tunnel.
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The crew stopped digging and after seeing the debris continue to fall they immediately exited the tunnel. By Friday at about 1 a.m. there was a large sinkhole in the nearby street. No one was injured, despite the 8 meter wide diameter and 12 meter depth.
My photo of the #Ottawa sinkhole. Did the roof of the LRT collapse? Would explain the concrete pouring. #Canada pic.twitter.com/L1XhYnwxc1
— Paul Beckwith (@PaulHBeckwith) February 21, 2014The sinkhole has stopped the construction of Ottawa's light rail tunnel, a $2 billion project. It has affected water, sanitary and storm services and has forced traffic and buses to reroute.
