Woman badly burned in Whaka sinkhole after ‘ground opened up’
Our understanding
is that the wife slipped into the hole and she was eventually pulled from that and taken
care of by our staff Mike Gibbons, Whakarewarewa Village
general manager
An elderly woman was seriously injured after falling into a tomo (sinkhole) on a footpath at Rotorua’s Whakarewarewa Village yesterday.
St John treated two patients following the incident with one in serious condition and the other in moderate condition, a spokeswoman said.
Two ambulances and one manager responded to the scene after St John received a call at 2.23pm.
Both patients were taken to Rotorua Hospital by ambulance.
Whakarewarewa Village general manager Mike Gibbons said an elderly woman slipped into a geothermal hole near the entrance to the tourist attraction and she had suffered serious burn injuries.
The husband received moderate injuries trying to pull his wife from the hole, he said. The couple were from Perth, Australia.
He understood there was geothermal activity on Wahiao Drive and the “ground opened up”.
This could have been due to the “extra amount of rain” in the area but at this stage was unconfirmed.
“We are just keeping in communications with them and their families to monitor their wellbeing and recovery from the incident.”
Village staff were the first responders to the scene and helped pull the woman out of the hole.
“Our understanding is that the wife slipped into the hole and she was eventually pulled from that and taken care of by our staff,” he said.
“We need to acknowledge some of these situations can be also stressful on the staff that were involved in the recovery process.”
Rotorua Lakes Council had been notified, with staff being sent to assess damage in the area.
A police spokesperson said they were called to Whakarewarewa, The Living Ma¯ori Village on Tryon St in Rotorua just after 3.30pm and two people had been injured.
Aukaha News reported at least one visitor fell into the hole and has been taken to hospital where she is being treated for serious injuries.
A video at the village shows a hole of about 2m by 1m wide and 1.5m deep on a pathway into the village. Steam could be seen coming out of the hole.
Aukaha News said locals first saw steam coming out of the road about a week ago and a cone was put in place then.
The hole appeared to be just past the bridge going into the village, crossing over Puarenga Stream.
A reporter at the scene said there was a police presence at the village and access to the village was blocked.