Source: ABC
An elderly woman was trapped in rubble after the bedroom ceiling collapsed at her Adelaide home overnight.
The woman, 82, was woken when the ceiling fell and used a call alert button to contact emergency services, who rushed to the house in Arthur Street at Payneham.
Police at the scene blamed the collapse on a termite infestation.
“She was trapped from the waist down until police, firies (firefighters) and ambulance crews arrived,” Senior Constable Mick Abbott said.
It took emergency workers half an hour to reach and free the woman, who was taken to the Royal Adelaide Hospital for assessment of what appeared to be minor injuries.
A neighbour Gina said the collapse woke her and she was surprised to find out the reason for the late-night emergency.
“We all get our houses checked annually and no-one’s had any problems, and I’ve lived in the area for all my life actually and never known [of] it,” she told 891 ABC Adelaide.
It’s prompted us to make sure we get that check annually, we’ve got one due so I’d better go and get it done.
Neighbour Gina, about termite inspections
“It is a bit of a surprise that the house down the street ends up with a ceiling collapse.
“It’s prompted us to make sure we get that check annually; we’ve got one due so I’d better go and get it done.”
She said the elderly neighbour’s husband died a couple of years ago but the brick house had always been well maintained.