After many recent occurrences of land subsidence in residential areas in northern Quang Ninh province’s Cam Pha City, locals are living in fear, while concerned agencies are trying to identify the cause of the phenomenon.

>> Land subsidence creates hole that swallows bed, woman>> Dangerous holes force evacuation in Quang Ninh>> Four deadly holes on 3-meter road section

Residents of Cam Dong Ward are worried for their safety after a series of land subsidence incidents created large holes that could have killed them.

The latest indecent occurred at the house of Bui Ba Thanh, in  Hai Son 1 Quarter in the ward  at 1 am on August 26, when a large hole, 3 meters  deep and 7 meters wide, appeared under the floor of the house after a loud noise.

The hole swallowed a bed and Thanh’s daughter, Bui Thi Thuy, who was sleeping on it.

The terrible fall injured Thuy, and she was taken to a hospital where she received more than more than 20 stitches for wounds on her face and other areas of her body. She is still being treated. The hole also damaged many of the family’s belongings, including a motorbike. After the incident, Thanh’s family and several neighbors were evacuated, along with their possessions, under the instructions and arrangement  of local authorities.

Last week, five incidents occurred separately on the morning of August 21 in the city, forcing the evacuation of dozens of families.Underground water blamed On Tuesday a working group from the Geophysics Joint Stock Company arrived in the area to conduct an investigation into the cause of the land subsidence.  The group surveyed the scene and made measurements. In a survey conducted last July by the same company, experts found that there were  many underground pockets of water lying under sites where subsidence had occurred. Over time, this water damaged the structures around it and created hollows that led to land subsidence. However, such subsidence only occurred locally and has not spread.    The survey’s results also confirmed that land subsidence in the area was not caused by nearby coal mines. According to the Cam Pha City People’s Committee, seven cases of subsidence have occurred so far this year in two wards, Cam Son and Cam Khe. While talking with Tuoi Tre about the issue yesterday, Nguyen Huu Hao, an expert from the Geophysics Joint Stock Company, said there were many underground water pockets located near the surface. “Many locals have dug shallow wells in the area, as underground water sources aren’t far from the surface, and our previous surveys showed that some subsidence occurred in locations above areas of water that were just 1-5 meters from the surface.” Regarding the cause of the large hole that appeared on August 21, Hao said the company will conduct a new survey across the area and will come to a conclusion in a month.  Evacuation On Monday four provincial departments, Natural Resources and Environment, Science and Technology, Construction and Transport met with the Cam Pha city People’s Committee to discuss possible causes and remedies to the issue.  These departments also agreed to the Geophysics JSC’s conclusion that land subsidence has not been caused by mining, but the exact cause of the problem could not identified for the time being. While waiting for a solution to the subsidence, these departments advised local authorities to make plans to evacuate people in areas considered by experts as vulnerable to land sinking.