Woman escapes injury after falling into stormwater drain
Screams for help coming from a hole alerted firefighters to a trapped elderly woman.
The woman had been walking along a private lane behind shops in Mt Maunganui yesterday morning when the ground gave way beneath her feet, landing her in a stormwater drain.
She had fallen through a ‘‘concrete cap’’ that had eroded with age, a Tauranga City Council spokesman said.
She fell at least 1.5 metres before landing in water, where she started calling for help. Eight firefighters scrambled to assist the woman using shovels to clear debris and create a space large enough to allow the woman to climb to safety.
‘‘She was down there for about an hour,’’ Fire and Emergency New Zealand spokesman Jim Calder said.
‘‘We could have probably got her out faster, but she was in good condition, so we took our time to maximise safety.
‘‘Even though it was a stormwater drain, we had to check for gas and do everything correctly.’’
The woman was checked over by St John ambulance staff and and shared a few laughs with the firefighters after thanking them.
Council spokesman Trevor Page was also called to the scene to assist as early reports said the woman had fallen down a manhole.
‘‘It was incorrect,’’ he said. ‘‘What’s happened is she has fallen into a privately dug stormwater drain and through a concrete cap.
‘‘That lid was not thick enough and should not have been used in an area of high traffic.’’
The drain was at the back of a series of shops where customers can park.
‘‘It is a common occurrence for cars to go through these things, but that usually happens in back yards when they are made out of wood,’’ he said.
‘‘She’s walked over it and it’s just fallen through. The concrete was 70 millimetres thick and really old. I think a car damaged the concrete and the lady walked over it and fell through.’’
Page said the council is considering what action to take to rectify the problem and will need to contact the private landowner responsible for the drain.