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Chubut Search Enters Third Week as Sinkhole Theory Gains Ground

Investigators increasingly focus on hidden tunnels formed by underground erosion that can collapse beneath seemingly solid terrain.

Overview

  • The only confirmed trace remains the couple’s Toyota Hilux found stuck in mud near Rocas Coloradas, with no subsequent signs of Pedro Kreder or Juana Morales.
  • Authorities have widened the search to roughly 40 kilometers and are deploying drones, tracking dogs and horses across difficult coastal terrain.
  • Geologist Nicolás Foix describes the hazard as ‘piping,’ where clay-rich subsoil erodes into concealed voids and vertical conduits that are extremely hard to escape if someone falls in.
  • A 2022 exploration video by Constantino Ca, now circulating widely, shows narrow, dark passages where “the light disappears in a few meters” and notes the slick clay becomes treacherous after rain.
  • Foix says the Rocas Coloradas area has been protected since 2018 but lacks an active management plan, a gap that leaves natural risks poorly marked as the search near Comodoro Rivadavia continues.