Australian woman falls into sinkhole while hanging laundry

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An Australian woman received quite a scare when she unexpectedly fell into a sinkhole while hanging laundry in her yard.

Emergency response crews say that the Melbourne woman was hanging her laundry when the ground suddenly caved in beneath her and she fell into the nearly 10-foot hole.

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"The woman told us she was hanging washing out in the backyard at about 11:30am when the ground gave way," said paramedic Stephanie Palamberis to the Australian Broadcast Corporation. "She fell with the dirt and mud, dropping about three metres and landing in waist deep water. The woman managed to attract attention of neighbours after about 30 minutes and emergency services were called."

Palamberis also noted that at one point, the woman's head managed to submerge under water.

Thankfully, the woman was not injured, but County Fire Authority operations manager Paul Carrigg said that she's lucky it wasn't more serious.

"This was a very unusual incident," said Carrigg. "Fortunately the lady has escaped without injury though she was obviously shaken up. We have doorknocked all residents in the street and advised them to stay indoors until council engineers investigate further."

An investigation continues to make sure it is safe for residents to go outside.