Workers evacuated after sinkhole opens in industrial carpark at Rockdale

Workers have been evacuated from a Rockdale industrial complex, after a sinkhole opened in a carpark this morning.

Workers have been evacuated from the M6 tunnel, and a south Sydney industrial building is at risk of collapse, after a huge sinkhole opened up in a carpark on Friday morning.

Fire and Rescue NSW crews set up an exclusion zone on West Botany St in Rockdale in the early hours of this morning, after the building became “destabilised”, and the exterior of the building began to buckle downwards.

It’s understood a sinkhole opened in a carpark below an office space, which is adjacent to the M6 tunnel site.

Workers of the M6 tunnel and an industrial complex have been evacuated after a sinkhole opened up in Rockdale. Picture: Fire and Rescue NSW

The M6 tunnelling site is located directly across from the Rockdale industrial complex. Picture: Fire and Rescue NSW

Just an hour before FRNSW was notified of the sinkhole, tunnel workers 18m underground, began to notice debris fall from the surface.

“There was a small trickle of material coming out of the surface of the tunnel that they’re currently mining,” Australian Workers Union spokesman Steve Ackerman said.

“They did make efforts to try to arrest that but as they’re working in natural ground, things are unpredictable.”

Workers have been evacuated from the industrial complex. Picture: Today, Channel 9

All workers were evacuated from the tunnel, while more than 20 people from the industrial building were stopped from entering the office and warehouse spaces.

While the cause of the sinkhole is not yet known, Transport for NSW’s Deputy Secretary Infrastructure and Place Camilla Drover said confirmed investigations and remediation works were underway.

“Our focus is on making the site safe,” she said.

FRNSW Superintendent Peter Cleary said crews had come up with a ‘make safe plan’ this afternoon, to stop the industrial building from any further collapse.

Fire and Rescue NSW crews have set up an exclusion zone. Picture: Rohan Kelly

Transport for NSW is investigating the potential connection between the sinkhole and the M6 works. Picture: Rohan Kelly

“We are confident that it is contained within that exclusion zone,” he said.

“The building is approximately 200m long and it’s a small section that has been impacted.

“In an unrelated section, there were about 10 people working which were evacuated, but the building that is of concern, there is no one working when we arrived.”

It is expected the operation will take much of the day.

Representatives from SafeWork NSW are on scene, while remediation works begin,

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