Floor disappears from underneath Footscray husband and wife in ‘terrifying’ structure collapse

A Footscray couple had a lucky escape after the floor in front of their front door gave way, trapping them 2m underground.

The damage after the floor collapsed, trapping Footscray’s Caroline Rayner and Greg Nunn for almost an hour. Picture: Nilsson Jones / Supplied

A Footscray couple miraculously escaped a “terrifying” structure collapse unharmed when the floor disappeared from underneath them outside their home.

Caroline Rayner and Greg Nunn fell almost 2m outside their front door when the tiled platform “rumbled” before collapsing, trapping them underground for almost an hour.

Firefighters and paramedics attended the Smith Crescent just before noon on Friday and used a ladder at the property to rescue the couple.

Ms Rayner said despite the freak incident, she was able to see the funny side of it.

“We just thought it was funny and knew how ridiculous it was, afterwards we were quite shaken as it could have been traumatic,” Ms Rayner said.

“Thankfully I had my phone as its quite hidden with the steep driveway and no one would have seen or heard us for hours.

The damage after the floor collapsed.

“The floor made a loud rumble and I knew exactly what it was.

“One of my legs landed on my husband and the other landed awkwardly on a table so I’ve done a little bit of damage to my ankle but considering how bad things could have been we are fine.”

She said there were issues with the tiles and support beams underneath which they were getting repaired.

A Melbourne couple escaped a freak incident relatively unharmed when the ground disappeared from underneath them outside their Footscray home. I’ve spoken with them and they couldn’t help but see the funny side of things. WILD @LeaderOnline @theheraldsun pic.twitter.com/ytdIXJ9WRS

— Nilsson Jones (@nilssonjones_) July 18, 2023

When the Herald Sun visited the house, Ms Rayner was resting her foot with a suspected sprained ankle while awaiting X-ray results but she was confident there was no further damage.

Caroline Rayner and husband Greg Picture: Supplied

Tradies visited the home over the weekend and have set up scaffolding and a platform to allow access to the power box.

The couple said the insurance company was great and co-operative and they remain confident the home would be repaired in the coming months.

A number of tradies had visited the home over the weekend to assess the damage.