Residents of a New Mexico neighborhood were evacuated the night of Monday, May 6 after a large sinkhole opened up in front of a home, swallowing multiple vehicles, officials said.
The City of Las Cruces said in a news release Tuesday, May 7 said firefighters were dispatched to the 1700 block of Regal Ridge Street at around 9:30 p.m. Monday, and arrived to find a sinkhole approximately 30 feet wide and 30 feet deep. Knewz.com has learned that the sinkhole was "still settling" when they arrived.
The sinkhole swallowed two vehicles that were parked in a driveway, but no injuries were reported.
The occupants of three surrounding homes were temporarily evacuated, and the Red Cross was called to assist them, the city said.
Las Cruces Utilities and El Paso Electric were called to the scene to determine whether any utility service lines for the neighborhood were compromised.
The city said Regal Ridge Street would remain closed to traffic until engineers and street crews could investigate the cause of the sinkhole and evaluate the safety of the road.
Residents were warned of "intermittent" road and utility closures in the coming days, until the sinkhole can be backfilled.
—TMX contributed to this report.
