Police have sealed off a road in the western Bay of Plenty gold-mining town of Waihi after a water main burst this morning, creating a hole big enough for a car.
The hole in Kenny Street was "reasonably round" on top, but underneath became quite large, Sergeant Rex Knight of Waihi police said.
"It's big enough to fit a car into."
The hole is near an area that had subsided about 10 years ago, Mr Knight said.
Three houses had fallen into the subsided ground and the area had been permanently sealed off.
"We're waiting to see if it's connected to that -- it's just precautionary really."
The Kenny Street hole was right outside some netball courts and would be a problem for netballers wanting to play over the weekend, Mr Knight said.
The area had been sealed off and diversions were put in place.
The street was expected to remain closed for the rest of the day so authorities could assess it, Mr Knight said.
- NZPA
Burst water main opens large hole in road
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