Woman falls into drain pipe
Screams for help coming from a hole alerted firefighters to a trapped elderly woman.
The woman had been walking along Commerce Lane in Mt Maunganui when the ground gave way beneath her, 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. She then started calling for help.
A team of about eight firefighters scrambled to assist the woman using shovels to clear debris and create a space large enough to allow her 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.’’
After climbing to freedom, she was draped in a firefighter jacket for warmth and given a hot drink.
The woman was checked over by St John Ambulance staff and she shared a few laughs with the firefighters after thanking them for coming to her rescue.
Council spokesman Trevor Page said the woman had ‘‘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.
‘‘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 council was considering what action to take to rectify the problem.
The council would need to contact the private landowner responsible for the drain.