WINK, TEXAS — Satellite images show that two massive sinkholes near Wink, Texas are growing, and that more sinkholes are forming nearby, according to geophysicists at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, who reported their findings in the journal Remote Sensing.

The sinkholes, named Wink 1 and Wink 2, are located between the small towns of Wink and Kermit in West Texas.

The scientists said the sinkholes are unstable and subsiding at an alarming rate. More sinkholes could appear in the future, and they could collapse into one giant sinkhole. A collapse of the sinkholes, because they are near two towns as well as oil and gas facilities, could be catastrophic, the scientists warned.

“This area is heavily populated with oil and gas production equipment and installations, hazardous liquid pipelines, as well as two communities. The intrusion of freshwater to underground can dissolve the interbedded salt layers and accelerate the sinkhole collapse,” Jin-Woo Kim, leader of the study and research scientist at Southern Methodist University, said in a statement.

Wink 2 is about 3 kilometers from the town of Wink, which has a population of 940 people. Wink 1 is about 6 kilometers from the town of Kermit, which is home to 6,000 people.