Live: NSW Now: Minor earthquake shakes Snowy Mountains, swim coach faces 47 more charges

Written by primenews

September 26, 2019 0 Comments

Live: NSW Now: Minor earthquake shakes Snowy Mountains, swim coach faces 47 more charges

Posted

September 26, 2019 06:53:11

Photo:
The earthquake in Berridale had a depth of 10 kilometres. (Supplied: Geoscience Australia)

Here’s what you need to know this morning.

Snowy Mountains hit by earthquake

A 3.1 magnitude earthquake struck Berridale in the NSW Snowy Mountains last night but there have been no reports of damage or injuries.

The quake, which struck at a depth of 10 kilometres, was also felt in the towns of Bredbo, Cooma and Cootralantra and even 150 kilometres away in Pambula and Nethercote on the south coast.

“Definitely felt it and and heard the building rumble. I actually jumped up and yelled in fright! Twice in about 30 seconds,” Cooma resident Shane Cameron wrote on Facebook.

“It was loud, shaky and did I mention LOUD,” Berridale resident Annie O’Keefe said.

Phil Cummins, from Geoscience Australia, said many people had been logging onto their website to report feeling the earthquake.

47 more charges against swim coach

A former swimming coach will face 47 additional charges as part of ongoing investigations into allegations of historical sexual assaults in Sydney’s south-west.

A 43-year-old man was arrested and charged last week for allegedly grooming and sexually abusing two boys while working at a swim school in Padstow, between 1997 and 2003.

Police allege the incidents occurred over multiple occasions when the boys were aged between 11 and 16.

The man allegedly groomed and sexually abused a further nine boys, aged between eight and 16, on a number of occasions, between 1997 and 2009.

It is alleged the man was the boys’ swimming coach at the time of the incidents.

Mascot Towers residents ‘gutted’ over Government claims

Photo:
Residents of Mascot Towers were evacuated on June 14 after cracks appeared in the building’s beams. (AAP: Bianca de Marchi)

Mascot Towers residents say they are incredibly upset the NSW Government has accused them of embarking on a “deliberate strategy” to force their hand.

Earlier this week Innovation and Better Regulation Minister Kevin Anderson said owners were trying to push the Government to foot the repair bill after “flip-flopping” over options to fund remediation work and choosing a nine-month special levy that many residents may struggle to afford.

Mascot Towers resident Brian Tucker said this was far from the truth.

“When I heard that I was just so upset,” Mr Tucker said.

“All we’re trying to do is get some finance so we can get our building back together and get back in there. To say there was a conspiracy to force the Government into a corner or words to that effect is just absolutely gutting to us.”