A 15-metre sinkhole that suddenly opened up on Saipan completely swallowed a backhoe on Tuesday.
The Northern Marianas' Commonwealth Utilities Corporation said the sinkhole suddenly appeared at one of its wastewater plants.
Photo: Mark Rabago
It said the heavy equipment could not be recovered.
No one was injured and the area has been secured.
It is unclear if the 5.8-magnitude earthquake felt on Monday night may have caused the sinkhole.
The National Weather Service based off Tiyan, Guam says the earthquake occurred about 29 kilometres south of Rota with a depth of about 110 kilometres.
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said there was no tsunami threat to either country.
