Officials say brine cavern successfully breached

Updated:

The sinkhole near Bayou Corne, Assumption Parish (Photo from GOHSEP)

LINK: State's response to Bayou Corne incident (GOHSEP)

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) - Officials say an abandoned brine cavern in the Napoleonville salt dome has been successfully breached.

State Commissioner of Conservation James Welsh said Monday the investigatory well entered the cavern Saturday evening. Officials say they hope samples taken from inside the cavern will shed some light on the cause behind a massive sinkhole that erupted in Assumption Parish Aug. 3.

Officials say natural gas samples taken from inside the cavern will be tested for connections with gas bubbles that have been identified in other areas of the parish.

Officials say it will be a few days before test results are available.

Scientists believe structural problems within the brine cavern to be behind the sinkhole. The cavern was plugged and abandoned by Houston-based Texas Brine Co. in 2011.

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Officials say brine cavern successfully breached - FOX 8 WVUE New Orleans News, Weather, Sports

Officials say brine cavern successfully breached

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