A cavernous sinkhole that appeared in Nanaimo on Thursday night could be an old entrance to the East Wellington Colliery mine, city officials say.

The sinkhole was first discovered around 9 p.m. along Westwood Road between Cathers Drive and Kawartha Place by a woman walking by.

The sinkhole measures roughly 20 feet (six metres) wide and includes portions of the street and sidewalk.

People who live in the neighbourhood tell CHEK News they feel fortunate no one was hurt and that no cars were swallowed up by the sudden appearance of the sinkhole.

The City of Nanaimo has closed this portion of Westwood Road, and crews were on site Friday morning trying to fill the hole with gravel, sand and cement, though it’s unclear how deep it goes and if any underground infrastructure has been affected

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