A woman traveling through the Australian outback was trapped waist-deep in a sewage pit for three hours after a pit latrine collapsed, authorities in the Northern Territory said.
The incident occurred at the Henbury Meteorites Conservation Zone, located approximately 145km (90mi) southwest of Alice Springs. The woman was on a road trip to Canberra with her husband and two children when the accident happened, according to the Action for Alice community Facebook page.
Authorities reported the woman was stuck in the pit latrine for roughly three hours before a passing local tradesman arrived to assist.
An eyewitness told local news outlet NT News that the woman's husband managed to flag down the tradesman. The rescuer lowered a rope into the pit for the woman to hold onto, then used his vehicle to lift her out of the waste.
A harrowing rescue
The extraction process took more than 45 minutes. The unnamed eyewitness described the scene to NT News, stating there were "literal nappies", excrement, and urine inside the hole.
While the woman was transported to a hospital following the ordeal, reports indicate she did not suffer any serious injuries.
NT WorkSafe, the agency responsible for regulating workplace health and safety in the territory, said the organization managing the Henbury conservation zone had notified them of the incident. The agency confirmed that an investigation into the collapse is currently ongoing, according to bbc.com.
This is not an isolated incident for the region's infrastructure. In July 2024, firefighters in Victoria's Indigo Valley had to dismantle a similar toilet after a man became stranded inside.
Similar accidents have occurred in other parts of Australia. In 2012, a 65-year-old woman in central Queensland required an airlift to the hospital after falling into a pit toilet and fracturing her leg, according to The Courier Mail, as reported by bbc.com.
