Sinkhole “swallows” truck, prompts building ban in upscale sector

Santo Domingo.- A sinkhole that last week “swallowed” a twin cabin pickup truck has prompted the National District City Council to issue a temporary construction ban in the upscale sector Los Prados, which takes effect today Monday.

Prominent geologist Osiris de Leon said the area, which just 15 years ago was a soggy lowland, and has subsurface water currents, whereas National District Pllaning Office director Jose Abel Noboa affirmed that faulty drainage wells are also to blame.

The ban includes adjacent areas such as Las Praderas, La Castellana and San Geronimo, in the capital’s western outskirts.