A massive sinkhole has opened up below a two-storey office building in Southern Sydney that sits above the M6 tunnel construction – with the building at risk of collapse.
Emergency services responded to a call at 5 am after sinkhole appeared in the car park of a commercial building in the industrial complex on West Botany Street in Rockdale.
There was excavation work taking place inside the M6 tunnel at the time of collapse, which has now been stopped.
‘From what we can gather, there was a small trickle of material coming out of the surface of the tunnel that they’re currently mining,’ The Australian Workers Union Steve Ackerman told media.
‘It got progressively worse and the decision was made correctly to cease that work and move workers away.’
Authorities said no one was injured, and all workers were accounted for, both above ground and inside the tunnel construction.
The office building has been deemed ‘unstable’ by Fire and Rescue NSW and appears to be sagging in the middle.
The cause of the sinkhole is unclear, and workers will not return to the site until it is declared safe.
Workers have been building two long tunnels, each about four kilometres long, between Arncliffe and President Avenue in Kogarah for the M6 motorway.
Transport for NSW will investigate whether there’s any link between the ground sinking and the construction of the M6 motorway.
More to come.
It is believed the sinkhole opened up overnight or early this morning near an industrial complex in Sydney ‘s south
Emergency services are on the scene of a massive sinkhole in Rockdale
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