An as-yet-unnamed 68-year-old Kentcky farmer has died after his tractor was swallowed by a sinkhole while he was working in a field, according to the Nelson County Sheriff’s Office. Officers from the Sheriff's Office were called to the farm in the Botland area, slightly before 9.50 pm local time on Monday 25 May 2020, and found that the tractor driver had been ejected from the cab of the vehicle during the fall, and died as a result.
The approximate location of the Botland Sinkhole. Google Maps.
Sinkholes
are generally caused by water eroding soft limestone or unconsolidated
deposits from beneath, causing a hole that works its way upwards and
eventually opening spectacularly at the surface. Where there are
unconsolidated deposits at the surface they can infill from the sides,
apparently swallowing objects at the surface, including people, without
trace. Potash, a potassium salt, is readily soluble and can be dissolved
quickly if water gains access to deposits, leading to the rapid
formation of sinkholes.
Many areas of Kentucky are prone to sinkholes, as much of the state lies on karst (limestone), which is both
soft and porous, allowing water to sink into it, permeating through
the rock and excavating caves through which the water flows. If these
caves come to close to the surface, then the ground above can collapse
into the cave, creating a sinkhole at the surface.
Generalised diagram of the Inner Bluegrass Karst of Kentucky. James Currens/Kentucky Geological Survey.
See also...
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