On Saturday afternoon, a 13-year-old boy was playing soccer with his friends at a local reserve in Warriewood, Sydney, when the ground below them gave way and swallowed him.
Oska Stockner had been running across the area’s flooded fields when he saw the sinkhole.
According to Bri Vine, Oska’s mother, he initially thought the sinkhole was no bigger than his foot.
However, after taking a closer look, he saw that the ground had opened up. Oska’s friends then called triple-zero to report the incident.
They then called Ms Vine, who said that Oska was fine but had no feeling in his legs.
Despite the size of the sinkhole, which was about two meters deep, police officers did not know where it was until Oska’s friends told them about it.
As the officers approached, they could only see Oska’s fingertips. They then gathered around the hole, and a group of kids helped Constable Ferguson pull Oska out by his wrists. According to the officer, the boy had difficulty moving with his feet, and he was unable to purchase a way to get up.
The sinkhole’s position was described as precarious. If the soil had fallen on top of Oska, it would have hit him directly on the chest, and he would have been taken into the cavity. After being assessed by paramedics, Oska was allowed to go home.
A spokesperson for the Northern Beaches Council said that the fields at the site of the sinkhole were closed on Sunday as a safety measure. The fields are located next to Warriewood Wetlands and Narrabeen Creek. The council will also look into ways to fix the situation over the next couple of days.
It is believed that the sinkhole that appeared in the fields was bigger than usual.
The Narrabeen Creek, which flows into the lagoon, overflowed at the weekend after almost 200 millimeters of rain fell at nearby areas such as Terrey Hills and Mona Vale. Tim Seaton, a drone pilot, captured footage of the extent of the flood, which prompted the NSW Emergency Services to issue evacuation advisories for nearby areas.