Moment 'Gates of Hell' twin sinkholes open up 400 miles apart in Siberia causing chaos

A combine harvester was swallowed by one of two deadly sinkholes which suddenly opened up in Siberia, Russia, leaving one farmer dead.

The driver, 39, reportedly died as the farm vehicle plunged into the 35ft crater in Russkiy Melkhituy village, in the Irkutsk region. The huge crater appeared suddenly in the Russian village for unknown reasons. Describing the terrifying scene, an onlooker said: “The combine harvester is lying with its entire load, its full weight, on the cabin. The hole is larger in diameter on the inside than on the outside.”

Separately, a crater that opened 400 miles away at a Russian ski resort - dubbed a “gate to hell” - suddenly deepened and widened, close to multiple holiday homes. An earthquake may have caused the further sinking, but there are believed to be no casualties.

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The original hole opened in December 2022 on top of an iron-ore mine. Before today’s collapse it was 50 metres [165ft] wide, and 180 metres [600ft] deep. It had already become a spooky tourist attraction to “gaze into hell” before the further collapse today. Ski resort Sheregesh is one of the most popular in Russia, famous for an annual swimsuit skiing competition in spring.

The horrifying disaster comes just weeks after a tourist vanished down a massive sinkhole in Malaysia, leaving behind just a pair of slippers.

Vijaya Lakshmi Gali, 48, disappeared down a 26-foot sinkhole in the middle of a city pavement while on holiday in Kuala Lampur on August 23, sparking a frenzied search by hundreds of workers. Divers navigated the Malaysian capital's underground sewage network after it was suspected the mum, from Andhra Pradesh, India, was swept away by the current.

Experienced diving teams struggled against the water as they mounted a desperate bid to find the mum, with teams working above ground only able to locate a pair of the tourist's slippers. Excavators, sniffer dogs, and robot-mounted cameras were later drafted to scour the underground tunnel system before divers entered the water last week.

But officials were forced to call off the search, with Dr Zaliha Mustafa, a prime ministerial assistant, saying "a number of factors" were at play, including the "safety and health of the rescue personnel".