Sinkhole leads to closure of Great Alpine Road in Victoria's high country
Emergency services were alerted to the sinkhole at about 7am on Saturday morning. (Supplied: Department of Transport)
In short:
Emergency services say a sinkhole on Victoria's Great Alpine Road has been likely caused by an unused mineshaft.
Students at the Great Alpine School have been told the campus will be closed indefinitely.
What's next?
Emergency services are on the scene assessing the damage and working on a solution.
The Great Alpine Road in Victoria's high country has been closed in both directions after being damaged by a sinkhole.
The sinkhole emerged at Jackass Gully between Harrietville and Hotham Heights about 7am on Saturday.
Mount Hotham Chamber of Commerce president Steve Belli said he expected the closure to be in place for some time.
Steve Belli says the road will be closed for quite some time. (Supplied: Steve Belli)
"It looks like a collapsed mine shaft, but that's [not yet] confirmed," Mr Belli said.
"There are a lot of mine shafts in that area."
State Emergency Service (SES) regional agency commander Chris Brockwell said the Department of Transport and emergency services personnel were at the scene.
"It's what we believe is probably a disused mineshaft which is underneath the roadway," Mr Brockwell said.
"Assessments are underway, geo-technical experts will attend the site to ascertain the extent of the sinkhole."
Hotham Heights can now only be accessed via the towns of Dargo or Omeo.
A sinkhole believed to have been caused by an unused mineshaft has forced the closure of Victoria's Great Alpine Road. (Supplied: Department of Transport)
Mr Belli said it was business as usual on the mountain despite the road being closed from the Harrietville end.
"Hotham and Dinner Plain are still very open for business — you just can’t come up from the Harrietville side," he said.
"The road has been closed to keep everybody safe and SES, Victoria Police and Hotham Resort crews are all working on a plan of attack."
School affected
The Great Alpine School campus at Dinner Plain has been forced to close its doors indefinitely.
The ABC understands students who attending the campus are safe and being supervised by teachers.
The Alpine School is situated at 1,600 metres above sea level in the Victorian Alps.
The Great Alpine Road is closed in both directions from Mill Road. (Supplied: Department of Transport)
A parent of a child who attends the school has told the ABC they had been informed that it would be impossible to staff the school while the road was closed.
That was because all employees who worked at the school lived near Bright, making access to the campus impossible.
The ABC has reached out to the Department of Education for comment.