RAYMOND ISLAND, VIC. — A man has been rescued from a three-metre-deep sinkhole following a multi-agency operation on Raymond Island on Monday evening, June 22.
Local resident Bruce Miller and his wife, Liz Miller, a wildlife rescuer, had left the road on what they thought was an animal trail while assisting injured wildlife when he stepped onto a concealed opening.
“I didn’t see a hole, and I don’t think there was one showing. I think it had grown over, but it was obviously not strong enough to support my weight,” Bruce said.
CFA crews were called to the incident shortly after 6pm on Monday, June 22, with five units responding alongside the VICSES Bairnsdale Unit, Fire Rescue Victoria, Victoria Police and Ambulance Victoria.
On arrival, crews found Bruce conscious and breathing, floating in water at the bottom of a well, around three metres below ground level.
CFA District 11 Commander Tony Ford said the hole’s exact origins had not been confirmed, but locals believed it may have been a well dug many years ago.
“The walls of the hole were beginning to crumble, so crews were concerned that getting too close to the edge could cause more soil to collapse onto Bruce or cause a rescuer to fall in,” Tony said.
A friend who arrived before emergency services lowered a rope into the hole, which Bruce secured around his chest.
“CFA and VICSES volunteers worked together to devise a safe rescue plan using ladders, allowing Bruce to climb out without placing additional pressure on the unstable edges.
“They worked extremely well together to bring Bruce to safety,” Tony said.
The incident was declared safe at 6.56pm, with Bruce assessed by Ambulance Victoria and cleared to return home.
Bruce said the fall happened quickly.
“There was that helpless feeling of falling, trying to hold onto the sides and having things come down around me,” he said.
He initially tried to climb out but slipped and fell back into the water below.
“I decided I wasn’t going to try that again, so I found an area that felt solid, wedged myself in and waited,” Bruce said.
“A huge thank you to the first responders, without them things could’ve turned out very differently,” he said.
