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Large sinkhole in The Villages now filled, officials say

THE VILLAGES, Fla. — A 50-foot deep sinkhole that opened up between two homes in The Villages and forced the residents to evacuate has been filled, according to officials.

Crews worked through the night Saturday and into Sunday morning to fill the sinkhole between the homes on Chalmer Terrace.

From Skywitness 9 the two homes looked as though they were about to be swallowed by the sinkhole, and the ground could be seen collapsing and sucking the yard between the homes.

“Underneath the driveway there is no soil there yet, the driveway is still standing,” said project manager Rich Kay on Saturday.

Crews worked for several weeks to fill a smaller sinkhole on the property, but said rainwater caused a second sinkhole to open up.

Giovanni Velocci lives across the street and he said he was on his morning walk when he noticed the sinkhole.

“As I was coming back from my walk, I didn’t see the tree. I thought someone had stolen the tree or something,” he said.

Engineers worked on the problem throughout last week after smaller sinkholes developed in the area.

By late Saturday night, workers with Helicon Property Restoration were about halfway finished filling the hole with a mixture of sand and cement, and they estimated it would require 115 truckloads of grout.

Crews  said they will lay down dirt and fix the landscaping on Monday.