You may find there was a small crack (metal fatigue) that lead to the gaping hole as it tore open.

Yep it was on the drivers side... :D ...that is so silly it is really cute! I like it.

Found this older quote on airliners.net:
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Hey All,

Received this evening from sources serious corrosion issues have been detected on QF's VH-OJK while undergoing maintenance at AVALON. This is the first aircraft to under go cabin reconfiguration with the all NEW Premium Y/C cabin. Sources tell me the launch date has further slipped once to 5th of March operating the QF001 SYD-BKK-LHR route...
Let's keep our finger's crossed and hope -OJK recovers from her plastic surgery!

EK413
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I have no intention to speculate, and I'm not qualified either, but would Qantas still do another repair to this a/c - or with that sort of corrosion history already, would this be totally u/s now?

I know VH-OJH is still flying, and that old United Airlines 747 that came apart over the Pacific in 1989 that lost 9 people, but they gave it a new rego and flew it for years longer...

Slightly scary I suppose, but anyway. Roll on fleet replacements!

You wont see the aircraft till xmas time, then she will be fixed, a new coat of paint with the new roo and none will be the wiser!

Can anyone with the relevant technical knowledge tell us whether the area in the photograph would normally have 'loose' luggage, as distinct from containerised luggage? Whilst I appreciate that the decompression blast would have resulted in disarray in the cargo hold, I can't see evidence of a luggage container in the vicinity of the hole.

Also, what vital services pass through the area? Is the visible cross member structural or functional?

perhaps the thread title can be adjusted for accuracy?

Mmmm - not sure that 'Qantas Depressurisation' couldn't be interpreted a little too broadly - some mention of an a/c is probably still worthwhile!

Anyhow, this BBC report has a different picture and 3.3 minutes of video from inside the aircraft apparently after it had leveled off at "10002 feet" (according to the inflight display):
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7524733.stm

The oxygen cylinders are actually forward of the hole (next frame along) if that aircraft had the minimum 3 cylinders installed, however if it had the extra 1, that is exactly where the hole is (according to my Maintenance Manual that I have) The hole however is consistent with a cylinder explosion. That explains the baggage container spillage and the loss of the stringers on the airframe. That area would have very minimal or nil corrosion and the only time that area is actually looked at is at a D check when you inspect the whole fuselage. (There are cargo blankets installed to protect the fuselage) and the whole aircraft is coated in a corrosion preventative called AV15/30 Dinitrol which repels water and saves the aircraft from corrosion (Surface)

As for the other hole in the fuselage that is the number 3 air conditioning duct inlet which cools the bleed air coming from the engines or APU through the process of air conditioning.

You will notice that the 2 wing to body fairings have also become detached. They are fibreglass/composite panels held on my hundreds of screws ( I can tell you its a pain in the rear end to take them off and install them. However they are a cosmetic/aerodynamic fairing.

As for repairs I would say about 3 months max, there is a lot of work to be done, but nothing to major. I would guess Qantas would get Boeing out and they will have their team repair the aircraft. Just splice in some stringers and possibly a frame, pending on the damage. I am sure we will have further photos in the near future with how much damage did occur.

Oh and there would have been some wind within the cabin with a sudden loss of pressure.

That's great quality info - thanks, Brenden.

Where in relation to the hole location is the cylinder for inflating the escape slide for the door above?

Exploding oxygen cylinder theory is in the lead
 

Consensus so far seems to be that the hole location is close to where oxygen cylinders are stored, and the pictures show panel deformation consistent with an explosion from within the cargo bay at that location.

Is the cylinder mounting area strengthened in any way against the contingency of an exploding cylinder or is the assumption that they don't explode? Perhaps there was some other cargo that exploded? The leading edge of the lost fairing panels seem to have been ripped or torn off behind their point of attachment, whereas the trailing edges seem to have just come clean of their attachment brackets.

All speculation of course, but interesting to see how the technical expertise available on this board can glean so much from the factual information publicly available. Since it appears no-one was injured it seems innocuous enough to indulge ourselves speculating on what caused the incident just to compare our theories with the investigators' report. As long as we make clear we're just testing our technical/detective/predictive talents I hope no-one objects to the exercise.