• Members of a Louisiana National Guard crew that flew over the giant sink hole in Assumption Parish reported it is now larger.

    The helicopter crew used infrared equipment to observe a 10 to 20 foot growth on the north and south ends.

    Officials have ordered Texas Brine, the company responsible for a salt cavern in the Bayou Corne area, to immediately drill a relief well to investigate.

    Meanwhile, scientists with the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality were on site testing Thursday for naturally occurring radioactive materials.

    "We're doing it now because it's a site that was used for oil and gas production and that's basically a site that you will see and that's typically a site that you will see this type of material," said Rodney Mallet with DEQ. "We're doing it now because we've been taking exploratory air and water samples since July13 and we're doing it out of an abundance of caution."

    Initial tests found nothing radioactive, but more materials have been sent for further testing. Those results are expected back next week.

    Texas Brine will hold a news conference in Gonzales at 1 p.m.