Over 90 temporary houses and tents have been set up for local residents displaced after the ground of their village started sinking on December 29, 2006.

 

A boy looks out of a tent following a cave-in at Haijie Village, Nuotong Township, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, January 3, 2007.

 

257 locals have been evacuated from a village in southern China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region after the land gave way, which insiders have linked to an underground cavern.

 

A local website reports the ground starting sinking last Friday after the demolition of a tunnel in Chafuziran Village, and was continuing as of this Wednesday with the lowest area reaching a depth of 105 centimeters.

 

The village has been sealed off and residents are not allowed to get in without permission. Many houses have either collapsed or are leaning with cracks on their walls. No casualties have been reported.

 

Over 90 temporary houses and tents have been set up and the local government has delivered relief materials, including food and bed quilts to help the displaced residents pull through the winter.

 

Experts guess that the demolition of the section of tunnel changed the structure of a huge underground cave, which then became unable to support the ground surface. Construction has been halted.

 

Some elderly villagers said a similar event took place in the 1940s, but that they didn't realize their houses were built on the huge cave.

 

The construction team says they will provide compensation for the destroyed homes.

 

 

 

(CRI January 5, 2007)