Disappearance of a lake in Russia

Lake vanishes overnight in Russia

CBC News

MOSCOW - Villagers in central Russia are mystified by the sudden disappearance, overnight, of the town's lake.

Russia's NTV channel showed a muddy basin where the lake once was, in the village of Bolotnikovo, 250 kilometres east of Moscow. The name of the village translates roughly as "boggy."

Local officials say the lake was probably sucked into an underground cave system.

NTV interviewed local fishermen who had gone to the lake early Friday morning only to discover that something had "pulled the plug" on the lake.

"I looked and there was no water. I thought: 'Oh my God, what's going on?'" said one of the fishermen on TV.

Emergency crews were called out to search the lake bed to see if anyone had been sucked under. Lakeside trees appeared to have been dragged down with the water.

Safety officials say it's still dangerous to be on the lake bed.

Local official Dmitry Klyuev said several houses had been swallowed up under similar circumstances 70 years ago.

http://www.cbc.ca/story/world/national/2005/05/20/RussianLake_050520.html