Sinkhole occurs underneath National Corvette Museum’s Sky Dome
A massive sinkhole occurred in Bowling Green, Ky. on Feb. 12, 2014 in the early morning hours. The wide hole had opened up under the National Corvette Museum and sucked in a number of historic and prized Corvettes. Fortunately, no one was injured during this shocking event as it occurred at approximately 5:30 a.m.
According toReuters, the large hole was about 40 feet wide and 25 to 30 feet deep and occurred in the museum's Sky Dome wing. During the morning hours, alarms had begun to ring and security officers, rushing to the scene after getting the alert, found the gaping hole.
The museum's security footage shows two cars falling in as the hole opened up; a total of eight cars were swallowed into the sinkhole, including the historic one millionth Corvette, a 1992 model. Other Corvettes that were pulled into the hole included a 1993 ZR-1 Spyder, a 2009 ZR1 "Blue Devil", a 1962 Black Corvette, 1984 PPG Pace Car, 1993 Ruby Red 40th Anniversary Corvette, 2001 Mallett Hammer Z06 Corvette and a 2009 White 1.5 Millionth Corvette.
Two of the vehicles, the 1993 ZR-1 Spyder and the 2009 ZR1 "Blue Devil", were on loan from General Motors Co. The other six were all donated by Corvette enthusiasts. The couple that donated the 2001 Mallett Hammer Z06, which had been modified as a race car,spoke to the mediaabout the incident, noting they'd just donated the car about six weeks ago.
At the time of the incident, it was unclear how much damage had been done in terms of monetary value. Unofficial estimates place the dollar amount in the millions, reportedCNN.
Some say cars, such as the one millionth Corvette, which never hit the consumer market, are hard to place a value on.
According to reports, there is a cave underneath the Sky Dome and erosion over time likely played a role in triggering the sinkhole to occur. At the time the museum was built 20 years ago, the ground was determined to be solid and tests showed no sinkholes. The museum is also located in the vicinity of Mammoth Cave National Park.
Battaglini said the incident "shocked" him and says this news is devastating.
Geologists and engineers from Western Kentucky University examined the sinkhole using remote-controlled drones and have determined the structure is sound, although that portion of the museum will now be closed indefinitely. The Michigan-based General Motors said in apress releasewhen the cars are extracted, the company will oversee the restoration of the damaged Corvettes.
In the meantime, the Sky Dome will be closed, but other portions of the museum will be opened as usual.NBC Newsreported, the extraction process is likely to take some time.
The museum has posted avideoon YouTube that shows the damage.
