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Mysterious, gigantic hole appears in Siberia; scientific team sent to investigate

Posted at 9:40 PM, Jul 16, 2014
and last updated 2014-07-17 08:38:46-04

A news report and video showing a gigantic hole in a remote region of Siberia has the Internet guessing it's everything from an underground alien base to an underground gas explosion.

The report, from Siberian Times, said the 87-yard-wide hole was discovered by helicopters about 18 miles from the region's biggest natural gas field in Yamal. The report said the hole is believed to have opened on Sunday.

A scientific team has been sent to investigate the mysterious hole and is due to arrive on Wednesday. They plan to take samples of soil, air and water from the scene.

Still photos from the video taken from a helicopter show what looks like ejected material around the rim of the hole, with water or dirt flowing down the side of the hole in streams.  A close-up photo appears to show material inside the hole.

Until the scientific term gets to the site, the cause of the anomaly won't be known for sure.

The Yamal Peninsula is a strategic oil and gas bearing region of Russia.


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