 As a result of the mine's collapse, large sinkholes appeared around the mine and in the city of Berezniki, forcing some 12,000 residents to evacuate their homes.New sinkholes continue to appear regularly throughout the Perm region though it is not clear whether all of them are caused by mining activities.In 2006, the Russian government launched an investigation into the accident and concluded that a “previously unknown anomaly of geological structure” was to blame for the mine's collapse.