‘Monster’ sinkhole destroys a highway in Oregon

The rare sinkhole is the largest in the region since 1996

The sinkhole on Thursday had a depth of between 50 and 70 feet (Oregon Department of Transportation)

A rare and massive “monster” sinkhole destroyed a section of Oregon motorway on Thursday, with a depth of 50 to 70 feet, according to authorities.

The largest sinkhole in the region in 20 years caused chaos for travelers as the road was cordoned off by the Oregon Department of Transportation.

“It’s a monster for sure,” said Jared Castle, Oregon DOT spokesman for southwest Oregon, as reported by the Washington Post. “This is a very unusual event and is a sinkhole of a magnitude that we don’t see but once every couple decades.”

A sinkhole from November 1996 swallowed two tractor-trailers, dropping them 50 feet below the road. No one was hurt that day.

No injuries were reported Thursday either by the hole that opened up in a car park between the Fireside Diner and a Chevron gas station.

The first signs of the sinkhole appeared in December when it was just seven feet deep and had the width of a volleyball after to a period of heavy rain.

Sinkholes have been an unpredictable and perplexing phenomenon across in the US in states like Kentucky, Florida, California, Minnesota, Texas and Washington.

Reported cases around the world include China, Russia, Mexico, Canada and Guatemala.