A woman has been injured after falling into a hole caused by an explosion at an Australian tourism hotspot.

Queensland Ambulance said a woman in her 20s fell into a hole created by up to three blasts in a manhole on Cavill Avenue at Surfers Paradise on the Gold Coast about 5pm on Sunday.

The woman was pulled from the hole by bystanders before paramedics arrived to take her to Gold Coast University Hospital with minor injuries.

On Monday, authorities said the explosions on the Surfers Paradise tourist strip may have been caused by an electrical fault. A senior police officer said they caused mayhem, and the results could have been catastrophic.

“You are just walking along minding your own business and all of a sudden this happens,” Superintendent Peter Miles said.

“Given the cycle of world events you wouldn’t know what is going on.

“It would have been mayhem those first few minutes I would imagine.”

The woman was helped by bystanders before paramedics arrived and she was treated at hospital.

“I believe she is OK. They (injuries) were very minor in nature but when you think about what could have happened it’s a success story,” Miles said.

“[It is a] miracle it was not more severe than that.

“I imagine it wouldn’t have taken too much especially if there were accelerants around, it could have easily turned into a catastrophic event.”

The explosion sparked an exclusion zone, with Queensland Police asking people to avoid Cavill and Elkhorn avenues, The Esplanade, and Surfers Paradise Boulevard.

“Members of the public are advised to avoid the area and those within the exclusion zone are asked to remain indoors until further notice,” police said about 6pm on Sunday.

Video circulating online shows the manhole acting like a trap door during an initial explosion when the women fell in, before a second explosion shortly after.

A couple having dinner when the explosion rocked the tourist strip said they weren’t allowed home for hours.

“We were sitting in a restaurant … and we heard a small explosion,” Beck and Dave Morrison told the Nine Network.

“We just ordered dinner and then we heard another really loud explosion.

“Then the police cars and the fire trucks were here and we were told to evacuate immediately.”

Five fire crews responded to the incident, monitoring the scene and taking readings for gas in the area.

Power was also cut off in the area as a precaution before the exclusion zone was lifted about 90 minutes later.

Engineers were assessing the damage on Monday.

“Energex has come through and believe it was an electrical fault of some sort,” Miles said.

“But there doesn’t appear to be any further risk to the community.”

He said he thought the blasts were a first for the popular tourist destination.

-with AAP