Woman rescued from backyard sinkhole in Australia MELBOURNE, Nov. 25 (UPI) -- A woman hanging laundry on a clothesline in a Melbourne, Australia, back yard fell 10 feet into a sinkhole and had to tread water at the bottom, rescuers said. Melissa Beaumont said her mother, Christina Beaumont, 52, was visiting an elderly friend to help with household chores Tuesday when she fell into the backyard sinkhole. Emergency responders said it was about 20 minutes before a neighbor heard her screams and called for help. Ambulance Victoria paramedic Stephanie Palamberis said Beaumont landed in water. "At one stage her head was under the water," Palamberis told The Age. The woman told us she couldn't touch the bottom of the hole, so was trying to swim and stay afloat to avoid the risk of further mud collapse. Country Fire Authority operations officer Paul Carrig told news.com.au Beaumont "escaped without injury" but "was obviously shaken up" by her ordeal. Melissa Beaumont said her mother collapsed soon after returning home and was hospitalized with symptoms of shock. A spokeswoman for the Greater Dandenong City Council said the sinkhole was caused by an old well on the property not being properly filled in when it was covered. "It was an isolated incident on that particular property," the spokeswoman said.