Watch: Sinking feeling for Mexican family as giant hole threatens home

The giant sinkhole started as a five-metre hole on Saturday but has grown rapidly to its present size

The 70-metre sinkhole in Mexico (Screengrab/AP)

A massive sinkhole measuring some 60 metres in diameter and 20 metres deep has appeared in a farmers field in south-eastern Mexico where it is threatening to swallow a nearby house.

The giant sinkhole, in the town of Juan C Bonilla in Puebla state, started as a five-metre hole on Saturday but has grown rapidly to its present size.

WATCH: Giant sinkhole threatens house in southeastern Mexico. pic.twitter.com/6eARavYubo

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Speaking at a press conference on Monday, the state's governor Miguel Barbosa said the Sanchez family, whose house is being threatened by the sinkhole, have been evacuated. He also warned local residents to stay away from the area.

State and federal authorities have been drafted in to help find out what caused it to develop, and what needs to be done to protect the local population.

Earlier this year, a 20 metre deep, 2,000-square-metre sinkhole opened in the car park of a hospital in Naples, Italy, forcing the temporary closure of a nearby residence for recovering Covid-19 patients.