Hospital transfer for Aussie sinkhole burns victim
An elderly Australian woman seriously injured after a sinkhole opened under her feet in Whakarewarewa Village has been transferred to Waikato Hospital.
Emergency services were called to the living thermal village in Rotorua on Thursday afternoon after she fell into a fumarole (sinkhole) on a footpath.
A Te Whatu Ora Lakes spokeswoman yesterday said the woman’s condition was “serious but stable”.
Rotorua Lakes Council said it was notified of the incident on Wahiao Drive by a representative from the village just before 2.15pm on Thursday.
A crew from council’s roading contractor was immediately sent to the village to inspect the site and make it safe.
In an updated statement, Rotorua Lakes Council said: “First and foremost our thoughts are with the couple involved in the incident and Rotorua Lakes Council will provide any support or assistance we can.” The statement said road repair work would begin today but the road would remain closed.
“People who do not need to be there are asked to stay away.
The village had been temporarily closed to visitors by village management and security would be on site as an added safety measure, council said.
“Council remains in contact with village and iwi representatives to keep them updated on progress.”
The council was working with Work Safe, which was investigating the incident.
GNS Science volcanologist Brad Scott said sinkholes were a typical phenomenon in geothermal areas.
“Where there is high steam flow to the surface and that steam reacts with the shallow near surface ground water, acid solutions [form].
“The acid solutions alter the local rock and soils, this induces clay formation [that can be] washed from the local environment by water seeping down, especially under high-intensity rainfall.”
Scott said the washing away of the clays and fine material would create a cavity and eventually collapse.
“Often there are no significant warnings and it depends on the ground surface in the area.”
Scott said the collapse or the formation of a sinkhole was usually the end of the process.
“The cavity may have been forming for years. Once it is present it can be fenced off and made safe.”
Whakarewarewa Village general manager Mike Gibbons said the woman slipped into a geothermal hole near the entrance to the tourist attraction.
He said she had suffered serious burn injuries.
Her husband received moderate injuries trying to pull his wife from the hole, Gibbons said.
The couple were from Perth, Australia.
Gibbons understood there was geothermal activity on Wahiao Drive and the “ground opened up”.
This could have been because of the “extra amount of rain” in the area but at this stage was unconfirmed.
“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.”