Vehicles swallowed by sinkhole

THE FUTURE of the Inskip Point camping ground is uncertain after a 150m sinkhole swallowed vehicles on the ground late Saturday night.

SINKHOLE:

THE FUTURE of the Inskip Point camping ground is uncertain after a 150m sinkhole swallowed vehicles on the ground late Saturday night.

About 10.30pm, the ground under the MV Beagle campground opened up with what was described by witnesses as a loud, rumbling sound "like a storm."

In a Facebook post describing the incident, one witness said the sand began "rapidly disappearing into the ocean at an amazing speed".

Carolyn Elder from Rainbow Beach towing and roadside assist said considering the size and speed of the opening, it was a miracle everyone got out of the way safely.

"Some of my customers said there was a young boy that alerted everyone as to what was happening, he started screaming," she said.

"Cars started backing up straight away and everyone moved away quickly."

However the ground was too quick for some campers who lost a four-wheel drive, a caravan and a campervan into the beach.

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A total of 140 people were evacuated from Beagle during Saturday night, and at about 3pm on Sunday, the MV Sarawak campground was also evacuated.

This is not the first time a sinkhole has opened up at Inskip Point; it was during the June school holidays in 2011 when a smaller sinkhole caused the beach to fall into the ocean.

Now the future of the campgrounds in the area is uncertain.

Incident controller Senior Fraser Island Ranger Dan Clifton said while there were no more evacuation plans at this stage, a geotechnician was heading to the site to determine the short, medium and long-term future of the grounds.

"We're not sure until we get more information, but right now we're mostly focused on the short term," he said.

Mrs Elder said people in Inskip were used to dealing with smaller sinkholes.

"We expect nature to do its thing and everybody's safe which is the main thing."