Mysterious giant sinkhole appears in Chile

A massive sinkhole, larger than a tennis court, has appeared in the South American country of Chile.

Measuring 25 metres across, it was discovered on Saturday near a copper mine.

Experts believe it is very deep. They think it may stretch as far as 200 metres into the ground!

Fortunately, no one was hurt from the sinkhole's formation and authorities are working to keep the area safe.

Lundin Mining. which owns the land where the sinkhole has appeared, has said it has "remained stable" since its discovery.

The sinkhole was discovered in the Atacama desert in the north of Chile.

What is a sinkhole?

Sinkholes are formed when the ground collapses beneath itself.

They can happen naturally or can be caused by human activity.

For example, a sinkhole might form naturally where there is a large section of underground rock that is easily eroded.

Xiaozhai Tiankeng in China, also known as the Heavenly Pit, is the deepest sinkhole in the world at more than 600 metres deep

Or they might form near areas where there has been lots of mining.

Even though they can take a long time to form beneath the surface, they appear quite suddenly when the ground collapses in on itself.

Thankfully, they're not very common in the UK!

They are more likely to happen in areas where the ground contains a lot of limestone - a type of soft rock.