Sinkhole appears near Russian mine, forcing thousands to stay in their homes

• Huge hole opened up several miles to the east of a potash mine in Russia
• Despite the collapse miners made it out without any major injuries
• Around 2,000 workers told to stay at home while fate of site is decided

By Will Stewart

Published: 14:00 EST, 20 November 2014 | Updated: 14:08 EST, 20 November 2014

A gaping sinkhole has opened up in the Perm region of Russia after the flooding of a nearby potash mine.

The sudden collapse led to the suspension work at Solikamsk-2, owned by the world's number one potash producer.

The hole - described as being between 100 and 130ft in diameter - appeared several miles to the east of the mine in Perm region.

Disaster: Around 2,000 miners have been told to stay away from the Solikamsk-2 mine in Russia after a 130ft wide sinkhole opened up

Gave way: Some have theorised that an earthquake in the area 20 years ago may have weakened the rock, before mining and flooding caused it to subside

Geologists are urgently seeking to understand its cause.

One theory is that an earthquake 20 years ago weakened the rock structure around the mine.

Some 2,000 miners were ordered to stay at home as an assessment is undertaken into the safety of the flooded shaft.

Workers in the mine were evacuated safely.

The flooding is a blow to fertiliser giant Uralkali, which is traded on the London and Moscow stock exchanges.

Collapse: Despite the ground around the mine giving way, all of the workers were safely evacuated

Huge loss: The Solikamsk-2 mine is owned by the world's biggest producer of potash - a chemical compound used in fertiliser - and may have to close as a result

Solikamsk-2 mine is reported to have reserves of 150million tons amid fears that the mine will have to close.

The plant has an annual capacity of 2.3million tons of potash, a crop nutrient.

'We estimate that up to 24 per cent of the company's capacity might be affected, with another 20 per cent of capacity in geographical proximity to the flooded mine,' said Renaissance Capital investment bank.

Uncertain: One bank estimates that the company could lose nearly half of its productivity to the collapse, putting thousands of jobs at risk

'We can not say that the mine is lost for the company,' said Dmitry Mazepin, the company's deputy chairman.

The cause of the sinkhole is seen as different to the appearance of craters in northern regions of Siberia recently.

The Siberian craters - in permafrost regions - are seen as the result of the melting of soil containing gas hydrates, leading to dramatic blowouts.