article_snippet.sent: A mysterious sinkhole spewing fire and incredible heat has appeared in a Chinese hillside.
article_snippet.sent: Video footage of the 3ft-wide hole shows locals igniting branches and grass by pushing it to the rim.
article_snippet.sent: The hill is not in a volcanic area, and experts from Xinjiang Meitian Geological Bureau think the hole is caused by the layer of spontaneously combusted coal underneath the ground, which leads the surface layer to collapse.
article_snippet.sent: ‘The phenomenon has existed in the area for a few decades,’ Huang Wei, an engineer from Xinjiang Meitian Geological Bureau told China Central TV Station.
article_snippet.sent: ’ Huang Wei, an engineer from the bureau added that smoke often comes from under the ground on The hill in the spring and autumn.
article_snippet.sent: Branches and grass that are held near the hole immediately catch fire from the intense heat .
article_snippet.sent: Experts think a coal seam may have spontaneously combusted below ground .
article_snippet.sent: Chen Long, a supervisor from Xinjiang Meitian Fire Engineering Bureau, said there used to be more than a dozen of small coal mines in the area in the 1970s.
article_snippet.sent: ‘Primitive mining and extinguishing techniques caused coal to burn deep under the ground,’ said Mr Chen in the same interview.
article_snippet.sent: Operators didn’t seal the mines properly after business discontinued and this leads the underground fire to burn towards the surface of the earth.
article_snippet.sent: The local authorities have started drawing plans to put out the underground fire.
highlights_snippet.sent: Thought to be caused by a coal seam spontaneously combusting .