A council worker was forced to leap off a balcony as it collapsed beneath him during a landslide while inspecting a home in Victoria.
The luxury bayfront house in McCrae on the Morning Peninsula was reduced to a pile of rubble after it slid several metres down a cliff today.
The man, aged in his 50s, was injured in the horror collapse and is now being treated in Frankston Hospital.
Witnesses who saw the home destroyed in the landslide heard an almighty crash just before 9am.
“I thought that a truck had lost a whole lot of gravel but instead it was this house,” resident Kim Beers told 9News.
“It seems as though the land behind it has slipped onto the house and forced it to flip forward.”
The three-storey home was completely demolished in the landslide.
“Total destruction… the house used to be a three-story house, it is no longer a three-story house,” VICSES Sorrento Unit Controller Mark Daw said.
The home was unoccupied and was deemed unsafe days earlier following another landslip.
The injured council worker was inspecting the property when it collapsed around him.
“He was just there and then next minute it was sliding down the hill and he just jumped,” witness Michael Brown said.
“I think he shattered his legs and pelvis and everything.”
Around 10 nearby homes were evacuated as crews assessed the scene earlier today.
Simon Borghesi was one of the residents made to leave his home following the landslide.
“We’re lucky so far no one has been killed,” he told 9News.
In 2022, eight homes were evacuated in the same area and residents say they’ve long held concerns about water drainage on the hill.
They claim it was only a matter of time before something like this happened.
“I think it’s a bigger issue with springs under the surface – there’s been a lot of movement further up the hill.. seen a lot of water bubbling up the concrete,” Borghesi added.
Local mayor Anthony Marsh said a full investigation into the incident is underway.
It could be several days before evacuated residents can return to their homes as crews inspect the damage.
A relief centre has been established for those impacted.
Emergency services were called to Penny Lane in McCrae about 8.45am today following reports of a landslide.
One witness named Kim told 3AW it was an “unbelievable” sight.
“This house has completely crashed down… it landed into the back of another house,” Kim told Heidi Murphy.
“If there’s a person in there, it would be horrendous.”
Kim said the house had collapsed down a very sharp hill and other properties have been impacted.
Photos show the home in McCrae significantly damaged following the incident.
