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Melbourne girl swallows needle allegedly hidden in Woolworths apple

<p>A 14-year-old Melbourne girl is undergoing x-rays after swallowing what she believes was part of a needle in a bag of apples from Woolworths.</p> <p>Shelby Pewhairangi was on Tuesday eating her lunchtime snack, purchased from Hoppers Crossing Woolworths, when she felt a sudden stabbing pain.</p> <p>Her friend pointed out that a needle was hanging from her mouth, she told <em><a href="https://7news.com.au/lifestyle/woolworths/needle-allegedly-found-in-woolworths-apple-leaves-melbourne-girl-injured-c-694124">7News</a></em>.</p> <p>The needle was broken and Pewhairangi is now in hospital undergoing x-rays to locate the missing half.</p> <p>“The doctor told us the 24 hours after the accident were crucial,” the girl’s mother Seimone said.</p> <p>Woolworths said it is investigating the case. “We’ve seen the customer’s report and we’re looking into the matter in line with established procedures,” a Woolworths spokesperson said.</p> <p>“We stand ready to assist authorities in any way we can.</p> <p>“While this appears to be an isolated case, we’ve conducted precautionary checks on our stock in the store and found no issues.”</p> <p>More than 180 cases of needles in fruit reported since the nationwide contamination crisis emerged in September 2018.</p> <p>In response to the scare, the Australian government <a href="https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-australia-strawberries-contamination/strawberries-spook-australia-into-raising-jail-terms-for-food-tampering-idUKKCN1M00OO">in 2018 increased the maximum jail term</a> for anyone convicted of contaminating foodstuffs from 10 years to 15 years.</p>

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Giant sinkhole swallows Queensland backyard

<p>An Ipswich couple awoke on Tuesday to their backyard being swallowed by a sinkhole – a hole that quickly grew to 10-metres wide.</p> <p>Ray and Lynn McKay, who have lived in their home for 25 years, were notified of the small sinkhole by a neighbour.</p> <p>“We got up at half past nine and the bloke next door was watering his tomatoes – we only realised it was there when he asked me if I realised I had a hole in my backyard,” Mr McKay said.</p> <p>The one-metre sinkhole quickly tripled in size in a mere few hours. Footage shows the sinkhole caving in as water gushes from the side.</p> <p>It’s believed a century-old mine shaft is the cause behind the sinkhole.</p> <p>Ipswich Mayor Paul Pisasale has assured the McKays their house will be saved, with engineers confident that the sinkhole is fixable.</p> <p>"It will get worse for the next couple of hours. It's an exploratory shaft that goes down about 100 metres and there's no need to panic about a neighbourhood falling in, and we will take all the steps to get Lyn and Ray back in their house," Pisasale told AAP.</p> <p>The couple lost everything when the 2011 floods inundated their home and are hoping the sinkhole won’t swallow their house,  </p> <p>“This is just as challenging [as the floods] for us, we’re lucky that we have some wonderful neighbours that are looking after us,” Mrs McKay said.</p> <p><strong>Related links: </strong></p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><a href="/finance/money-banking/2015/12/20-aussie-suburbs-with-odd-names/"><em>20 oddly-named Aussie suburbs</em></a></strong></span></p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><a href="/travel/domestic-travel/2016/02/aussie-places-with-odd-names/"><em>10 more Aussie places with odd names</em></a></strong></span></p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><a href="/travel/domestic-travel/2016/01/beautiful-images-of-australia/"><em>10 images that prove why Australia is truly wonderful</em></a></strong></span></p>

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Holiday-goer catches moment sinkhole swallowed campsite on video

<p>In an incredible display of composure, Queensland tow truck driver, Jason Wotherspoon, not only helped save lives and property by keeping his cool, but as the sinkhole developed he caught it on camera.</p> <p>Using his dash cam, Mr Wotherspoon captured the panic that overcame many campers as the sinkhole started to swallow the popular campsite.</p> <p>“We were all in bed and I woke up to this noise of large flopping sounds that turned out be sand falling into the water,” Mr Wotherspoon told Ninemsn news.</p> <p>“I watched for five minutes and said ‘jeez it’s getting bigger and bigger’ then I woke up some other people at camp and thought we better get moving.”</p> <p>Mr Wotherspoon managed to successfully save his van and caravan, with many witnesses later recounting that he did so with mere minutes to spare. Many campers had to abandon their possessions as the sinkhole developed.</p> <p>“I will continue to come back and camp here as long as they let us,” Mr Wotherspoon says.</p> <p>“It's been happening for many years, this is one of the bigger ones. We went to bed the next night thinking it could happen but sinkholes can happen anywhere, you just gotta get on with life. It doesn’t happen instantly you do have some sort of warning.”</p> <p><strong>Related links:</strong></p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em><a href="/news/news/2015/09/sinkhole-campsite-qld/"><strong>Sinkhole swallows campsite in Qld</strong></a></em></span></p> <p><a href="/news/news/2015/09/whales-meet-paddle-boarder/"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em><strong>47-tonne whales swim underneath paddle boarder</strong></em></span></a></p> <p><a href="/lifestyle/outdoors/2015/09/camping-comfort-innovations/"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em><strong>The latest and greatest in camping innovations</strong></em></span></a></p>

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Sinkhole swallows campsite in Qld

<p>Over the weekend 140 campers at popular Queensland camping ground, Inskip Point off Rainbow Beach, were evacuated after a massive sinkhole developed, swallowing a car, caravan, trailer and tents in the process. </p> <p>While thankfully no one was harmed, campers spoke of the shock of the sinkhole forming, which reportedly came with a loud thunder-like sound. One camper reportedly banged on caravans of nearby campsites, yelling for people to get out.</p> <p>At a 150 metres by 50 metres and three metres deep, authorities say that the sinkhole, which is bigger than a football field, could possible grow deeper.</p> <p>Rangers and officials are warning people to stay away from the sinkhole as a precaution, with Senior Ranger Dan Clifton revealing, “There is a real possibility the hole could expand with ocean currents, so people are urged to avoid the area".</p> <p>“Rangers and police have erected traffic barriers and warnings signs to advise beachgoers of potential risks.”</p> <p>While no one knows exactly what caused the sinkhole, there have been some suggestions that it is linked to a number of small earthquakes that have occurred off the coast in the last couple of weeks. Interestingly in 2011 a sinkhole appeared at the same campsite, again thankfully with no injuries.</p> <p><strong>Related links:</strong></p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em><a href="/lifestyle/outdoors/2015/09/camping-comfort-innovations/"><strong>The latest and greatest in camping innovations</strong></a></em></span></p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em><a href="/news/news/2015/09/whales-meet-paddle-boarder/"><strong>47-tonne whales swim underneath paddle boarder</strong></a></em></span></p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em><a href="/travel/international-travel/2015/09/over60-travel-photos/"><strong>Inside the Over60’s travel photo album</strong></a></em></span></p>

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