Work began on Wednesday on demolishing part of a shopping centre in Heerlen in Limburg which was evacuated at the weekend because of sudden subsidence.

All 50 shops were shut and dozens of families were evacuated from their homes in a nearby block of flats when a supporting pillar gave way and a five metre-wide crack opened up.
The cause of the subsidence is not yet clear but the construction of the shopping centre, the oldest in the south of the country, is not being blamed.
Mining
According to the town council’s website, the subsidence may be unconnected to Heerlen’s past as a mining town because the problem has only affected one spot.
Ten shops and part of the car park are being demolished. If the demolition goes according to plan, the shops will be able to reopen on December 23.
The families forced to move out are currently in hotels but the council hopes to rehouse them in furnished accommodation or holiday houses.