Landslide in McCrae sees man jump for his life from a balcony

A landslide in McCrae sees a council worker jump for his life from a balcony of a home, which slid down the cliff face from which it was built.

The home was originally located at 3 Penny Lane, McCrae 3938 and after the landslide, came to rest in the backyard of a neighboring property

Today, Tuesday 14 January 2025 at approx 08:30am the man was seen by passing cyclists jumping from a double story outdoor balcony of a residential home in McCrae, an otherwise quiet sleepy town on the Mornington Peninsula. The home was originally located at 3 Penny Lane, McCrae and after the landslide, came to rest in the backyard of a neighboring property – closer to Point Nepean Road, McCrae 3938.

Upon hearing of the calls to Triple Zero Victoria, this masthead immediately deployed our chief crime reporter and lead photographer, Lord Murray Schoorman and tasked him to the job.

Shortly after emergency services arrived, Lord Murray from Peak Hour Images snapped these images from the frantic scene.

CFA deployed the Mobile Command Vehicle [MCV]

As can be seen in these images, a large Police presence accompanied a multi-agency response from CFA, FRV, SES, Worksafe, Local Council/Shire and the Gas company – Multinet.

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FRV responded their transporter with the USAR pod to the scene.

Ambulance Victoria said paramedics responded about 8.45am and transported a patient to hospital in a stable condition. A council worker was injured during the landslip, Mornington Peninsula Shire has confirmed.

Reports that an alert was posted notifying of a landslide on the VicEmergency app, it warned other properties could be in danger.

“A structural collapse has occurred due to a landslide on Penny Lane. This has affected properties on Point Nepean Road,” the message said.

Local news outlets crossed live from the scene

Members of the CFA meet to discuss strategy

Members of the CFA use mobile devices to monitor local weather

Multi-Agency support co-ordinate their response

The gas company, Multinet contracted Service Stream to attend to locate and dig around the site to locate a safe way of isolating the gas supply to the area.

Gas company contractors work quickly to locate and isolate gas supply

Neighbours who live near the home that was destroyed in a landslide say they have been begging authorities for years to fix water issues in their street.

Local McCrae residents Bronwyn and Gerry Borghesi live immediately uphill from the collapsed house, and said they had been pleading with Mornington Peninsula Shire and South East Water for years to fix long-running problems caused by water bubbling up from underground in their street.

The collapsed house had been evacuated several days ago after a minor landslip and was unoccupied since. The Mornington Peninsula Shire employee who jumped from the balcony was reportedly there today, conducting an inspection of the property.

An SES spokesman said seven homes nearby had been evacuated as emergency services established an exclusion zone around the landslide.