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Queensland sinkhole may not be one

Xinhua, September 29, 2015 Adjust font size:

A geotechnical engineer has questioned whether a declared sinkhole that consumed a stretch of southeast Queensland beachfront was actually one.

About 200 meters of beachfront and 50 meters of a popular campground at Inskip Point gave way late on Saturday night, creating a 7.5-meter-deep cavity.

A Queensland government said on Tuesday said that the event may have been a "near-shore landslide" rather than a sinkhole.

A caravan, four-wheel-drive camper-trailer and tents were devoured by the hole but despite the campgrounds being packed with school-holiday-makers, no one was injured.

The hole grew by around a meter on Tuesday and may continue to expand in the coming weeks.

"Advice is that the event has likely passed, with the site now relatively stable with a flat beach edge forming," the statement issued by the Department of National Parks said. Endi