Reuters A US naval submarine in the waters of the Pacific has been forced to abandon a trip to Hawaii in response to the discovery of a massive sinkhole.
The USS Ponce de Leon, which was conducting operations off Hawaii in the early hours of Wednesday, was on patrol in waters off the Hawaiian island of Oahu when it discovered a sinkhole that was about 1,000 feet deep, according to a statement from the US Pacific Command.
“The Ponce De Leon has been on a routine patrol, off the Hawaii coast, for several days and is regularly engaged in routine operations in support of international maritime security, US Pacific Fleet spokesman Capt. Joe Wooten said in the statement.”
At about 12:30am on Wednesday, Ponce received a distress call from a Hawaii resident reporting a sink hole about 1.5 miles (2 kilometers) deep.
Upon investigation, it was determined the sinkhole had originated from a large concrete block located at a depth of about 3.5 feet (1 meter),” Wootens said.
The submarine’s commanding officer, Lt. “
The Pover was not aware of any previous incidents where a vessel had been involved in a sinkway, but did have a routine routine patrol mission off the island of Hawaii,” Wootes said.
The submarine’s commanding officer, Lt.
Col. David O’Connor, said the crew was working through the night to find a safe way to enter the hole.
“We’re working through it,” O’Connors said.
“Our crews are getting very comfortable and they’ve made contact with the locals.
We’re just trying to get as much information as we can, get some more information.”
No injuries were reported, he added.
The discovery of the sinkway comes just days after another US Navy ship discovered a massive hole in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of New Zealand.