Huge growing sinkhole has left elderly couple temporarily homeless

A sinkhole which appeared in a backyard in Ipswich, Queensland, Australia, on Tuesday and left a couple temporarily homeless grew in size overnight. Lyn and Ray McKay, who have lived at the Basin Pocket property for 25 years, were alerted to the unexpected swimming pool in their yard by a neighbour.



Experts say the hole was caused by an old mineshaft and have reassured Mr and Mrs McKay their home is not at risk. The hole had grown to around 12m in diameter by Wednesday afternoon, but experts say it is unlikely get any bigger. Authorities have been at the property attempting to drain the hole, which is filled with swirling brown water.



They have drained around a metre of the water but are unsure how deep the sink hole is. While the home is unlikely to be damaged, Mrs McKay is mostly concerned about her Hills Hoist clothesline. “If you take a look, the most important thing is we’ve anchored the clothesline to the house – all Lyn cares about is saving the clothesline,” Ipswich Mayor Paul Pisasale said. The McKays are staying in temporary accommodation until the situation is dealt with.


YouTube link.

They are expected to be unable to move back into their home at least for another week. Officials from Queensland Utilities and the Department of Mining have attended the scene. The couple are still waiting to hear about whether the state government will be covering any of the costs involved. This is another unwelcome turn of events for the McKays, who lost all their possessions when the 2011 Queensland floods swept through their home.