Watch sinkhole form at National Corvette Museum

The National Corvette Museum in Bowling Green, Ky. has released security-camera footage showing the formation of the sinkhole that swallowed eight rare cars yesterday. The 40-foot-wide sinkhole, which could be between 25 and 30 feet deep, opened at roughly 5:44 a.m. Wednesday. Fortunately, no one was harmed in the incident. The state of the cars involved in the disaster remains unclear.

Additional footage shot from another angle shows how sudden the collapse was once it started:

Further video takes us inside the massive sinkhole. The unfortunate Vettes that fell into the pit, some of which appear to be trapped under rubble, look almost like discarded toys:

Incredibly, the museum is back in business as of today, though the Skydome area is obviously off-limits. Beyond the eight cars reported destroyed yesterday -- which included the 2009 ZR1 “Blue Devil” prototype -- it doesn't look like there has been any more damage to the collection. In fact, video footage shows museum personnel ushering the other cars in the Skydome to safety.

We've attempted to contact the museum for more information, but we haven't heard back yet. We can't say we're too surprised, given the shock and magnitude of this crisis. If you'd like to make a financial contribution to the museum's rebuilding effort, you can do so here.

By Graham Kozak