DAISETTA, TX -- A company that sits near the edge of a massive sinkhole in Southeast Texas has been accused of violating permits for disposal of saltwater, which some geologists suggest may have caused the crater.

However, officials with the Texas Railroad Commission, which regulates such permits, stressed Friday that the cause of the sinkhole has not been determined.

The sinkhole in the small Southeast Texas town of Daisetta began as a 20-foot hole in the ground on Wednesday, but by Thursday had grown to 900 feet across at its widest point and 260 feet deep.

It has swallowed up oil tanks and barrels, tires, telephone poles and several vehicles in Daisetta, a town of around 1,000 residents located about 60 miles northeast of Houston.