Giant Texas Sinkhole Keeps Growing After Swallowing Tractor-Trailer Rig

Daisetta, TX (AHN) - A giant sinkhole that opened in Texas and swallowed up oil field equipment, poles and a few vehicles - including the tractor and cab of an 18-wheeler and a farm tractor - has continued to grow in southeast Texas in the small town of Daisetta.

Daisetta sits on top of a salt dome and during oil production salt water separated from crude oil from the production wells is often disposed of by pumping it into wells in the dome. This sinkhole opened when workers were pumping salt water into a dome well, witnesses told the Houston Chronicle.

Officials are taking steps to try to prevent any disaster connected with the growing sinkhole. It started out being about the size of two football fields on Wednesday morning and had grown to the size of about four by Wednesday night.

The sheriff's department told the Houston Chronicle that the hole was about 600 yards wide and 200 feet deep.

Utility crews cut a power line when the sinkhole began swallowing power poles, oil crews worked to pump hundreds of gallons of oil out of storage tanks before they topple into the sinkhole and officials diverted school buses and other traffic as they closed the main road because the sinkhole is gnawing it's way through the earth toward it.

Authorities are seeking ways to try to stop the sinkhole from growing more. So far no houses have toppled into it, no one has been hurt and officials say they aren't worried about an explosion.

Officials with the Texas Railroad Commission are checking pipelines in the area to see if any regulations have been violated and officials with Texas Natural Resources and Conservation continue to monitor air and water quality to detect pollutants, although none has been detected, according to reports.