West Tamar mayor Christina Holmdahl said the Mancala Group have been on the site for a week assessing the risks. 

“We really don’t know [what is going on] because every bit of concrete they lift poses a different problem each time, and at the moment they have unearthed where the hole was and they can see the level of destruction under the ground,” she said.

“They are assessing how they are going to proceed, ideally what they want to do is to be able to evaluate all the risks and be fairly certain before they send somebody down the shaft.”

Councillor Holmdahl said the true extent of the problem was not discovered until the concrete slabs began to be lifted on Wednesday.

A second hole has been cut in the cage, to access the damage with cameras, but the exact size and depth of the larger hole is still unknown.

“It’s extremely dangerous, this is why it’s taking so long, [Mancala] are being very, very thorough,” Cr Holmdahl said. 

“We as a council are satisfied with the pace of work that Mancala is doing at the moment and we are guided by their expertise.”

The $1.25 million repair is being jointly funded by the West Tamar Council and the state government, but federal cash has been requested under the National Disaster Relief and Recovery Arrangement. 

Cr Holmdahl said the council is in regular contact with Tasmanian Liberal senator Jonathon Duniam about the funding application.

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