The day a lake turned into a giant drain

A drilling mistake punctured a salt mine, turning a shallow lake into a massive, swirling whirlpool.

The lake depth jumped from 10 feet to 200 feet in just a few hours.

Fifty miners escaped the flooding tunnels just in time, with no human lives lost.

The drainage was so powerful it reversed a canal, creating Louisiana's tallest waterfall at 164 feet.

Nine of the eleven sunken barges popped back to the surface like corks after the lake refilled.