The undated photo shows villagers examining a giant hole in a village of Yibin, Hubei province. [scol.com.cn]

Villagers were transferred to a safer place in the wake of a continuous ground sinking occurring over the past month in several villages of Changning Town, Yibin, Sichuan province, reported the local news website scol.com.cn today.

The subsidence has left 43 giant holes in the ground by May 19, with the largest having a depth of 30 meters and a diameter of 60 meters.

Chen Fenmo, a villager in Shiya village, told reporters that she saw more holes appearing on the grounds over the past two days. This will soon make the village inhabitable, she said.

A geologist surnamed Liu who conducted a field survey to the villages estimated that the groundwater level descending may lead to the sinking of surface areas.

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