A village in Bac Kan province has many strange sinkholes.

Over the past month, many deep sinkholes have appeared in Hiep Luc village in Bac Kan province. Strange phenomena have accompanied this, such as cracked walls in houses and drained wells for unknown reasons...

From late March to early May 2025, in Hiep Luc village (Kim Lu commune, Na Ri district, Bac Kan province), many unusual subsidence holes appeared, including a large hole located right on National Highway 3B (route from Bac Kan to Lang Son and Cao Bang).

Strange sinkhole in the field in Hiep Luc village. Photo: Bac Kan Newspaper

Sinkholes range in diameter from 1m to more than 8m and depth from 1m to 8m, directly endangering people's lives and destroying production and transportation infrastructure.

According to statistics from the People's Committee of Na Ri district, the subsidence phenomenon began to appear on March 24, when the first two sinkholes appeared in Mr. Dam Van Viet's field. On March 29, a large hole with a length of 8.6m and a depth of 8m appeared at Km80+050 on National Highway 3B.

Then, from March 30 to May 1, four more sinkholes continuously appeared within a radius of several dozen meters around the road and residential areas. Notably, on May 1, within just six hours, two new sinkholes appeared close to the road corridor, forcing the authorities to urgently evacuate a household from the danger zone.

The wall of a house in Hiep Luc village has a crack near the sinkhole.

Some people and social media users believe that the reason for the frequent subsidence may be due to illegal gold mining.

However, through field surveys, the Institute of Geosciences and Mineral Resources ( Ministry of Agriculture and Environment ) determined that the subsidence phenomenon is related to karstified limestone geology, underground cavern structures, and excessive groundwater exploitation in the area.

These factors form potential “traps”, waiting to collapse when conditions are suitable such as heavy rain, vibration or surface load pressure.

The well of the people in Hiep Luc village was drained of water for unknown reasons. Photo: XUAN NGHIEP

Currently, the Na Ri District People's Committee has zoned off the risk area, erected barriers, and coordinated with specialized agencies to monitor developments. The Vietnam Road Administration has also stepped in, requiring urgent completion of geological surveys in the subsidence area on National Highway 3B, and proposing appropriate technical solutions to ensure traffic safety.

With the dense subsidence density and the possibility of further occurrence in a short time, experts warn that Hiep Luc village area is facing serious geological risks, needs to be put under special geological investigation soon and have a plan to relocate large-scale residents if the situation continues to worsen.

ANGEL

Source: https://www.sggp.org.vn/mot-thon-o-tinh-bac-kan-xuat-hien-nhieu-ho-tu-than-ky-la-post793715.html