Heroic moment group of bystanders link arms to pull a stranger from a raging river after his houseboat slammed into a ferry terminal and sunk – as Queensland’s flood crisis worsens
- Man forced to swim for his life after his houseboat smashed into ferry terminal
- Terrifying footage shows moment barge sinks beneath the surface and vanishes
- He then resurfaces being washed down dangerous floodwaters in Brisbane River
- Police and bystanders help pull man aged in his 70s from the water on Sunday
- Severe weather event has seen more than 1,000mm of rainfall fall over 24 hours
The dramatic rescue of an elderly man has been caught on camera after he was forced to swim for his life through dangerous waters when his houseboat smashed into a ferry terminal.
Emergency crews battling Queensland’s devastating flood crisis rushed to the Brisbane River’s Holman St ferry terminal at about 9am on Sunday when the floating home was smashed by a loose pontoon.
Terrifying footage showed the vessel flying through the river, with a man aged in his 70s walking on the barge before it collided with the terminal. The houseboat then capsized and sunk with the passenger nowhere to be seen.
New video shows the moment the elderly man was heroically saved, with bystanders and emergency services linking arms to help him from the water after he was swept to the nearby Howard Smith Wharves.
Bystanders link arms to help rescue a man aged in his 70s from the Brisbane River on Sunday after his house boat was ripped loose by a pontoon
In just a matter of seconds the barge capsizes and sinks beneath the surface after smashing into the Holman Street ferry terminal at Kangaroo Point (pictured)
Several boats and other debris have smashed into the Milton ferry terminal on Brisbane River after days of severe weather and flooding
More than a dozen locals can be seen clinging to the structure and each other as they reach into the rising floodwaters and pull the elderly man back to solid ground.
The man can be seen wearing a lifejacket, a decision that likely saved his life.
Two men in high vis led him away and he was treated by paramedics, but sustained no injuries.
While the boat (pictured) was completely destroyed in the crash the man escaped the terrifying incident with no serious injuries
Boats have been destroyed with some capsizing after several vessels smashed into the Milton ferry terminal over the weekend
Police have urged boat-owners to remain vigilant as southeast Queensland continues to be hammered by floods and rivers fill with debris and large objects.
Images from the Milton ferry terminal show on the northern side of the Brisbane River show several vessels destroyed, submerged and capsized after smashing into the wharf over the weekend.
The walkway from the terminal has been dislodged and is also underwater, with clean-up crews facing a huge task ahead.
A yacht capsizes after it was struck by debris on the Brisbane River on Monday morning
The walkway of the terminal has been disloged and is underwater
It’s expected southeast Queensland will be hammered with 24 hours of torrential rain from major thunderstorms with six people already losing their life (pictured, a car is towed from a flooded road in Oxley, Queensland)
A ‘major flooding’ alert was issued by Brisbane City Council just after 8pm on Sunday night as the Bureau of Meteorology warned severe flooding is likely to come with the high tide on Monday morning.
Residents who live along the Brisbane River have been warned their properties may be at risk as the river was expected to peak at 4m.
Some 49,000 houses across the region have been left without power with residents already fleeing their homes in Rosalie and Milton.
At least seven people have already died in the worst flooding in the state since 2011.
NSW residents living south of the Queensland border have abandoned Lismore after the SES sent an emergency warning to Northern Rivers locals at 3am.
North Lismore, South Lismore, Lismore CBD, East Lismore, Girards Hill, Woodburn, Swan Bay, Coraki, Marshalls Creek and Bilinudgel are all under threat.
Floodwaters have reached their highest levels in half a century along Wilsons River after reaching 12.26m at 5am – smashing the 12.15m record set in March 1974.
About 15,000 people have been evacuated on the north coast with the SES overwhelmed by calls for help and rescue teams unable to reach some people.
Severe warnings are in place for Brisbane, Logan, and Moreton with water levels already worse than the 2011 and 2013 floods in several areas including Gympie (pictured, the Brisbane River)
Lismore mother cradling her child in a police jacket after the pair were rescued on Monday
An exhausted Lismore resident collapses into the arms of a loved one as she cradles her dog
Families have been forced to evacuate as relentless rain continues to batter parts of south-east Queensland – while an entire regional town has been emptied with the worst floods in 50 years hitting northern NSW
Boats are piled together after tehy were thrashed around by floodwaters at Milton ferry terminal in Brisbane
Record flooding hits QLD and NSW
Thousands of residents have been forced to flee their homes as record flooding batters Queensland and New South Wales.
Queensland:
- A ‘major flooding’ alert was issued by Brisbane City Council just after 8pm on Sunday night as the Bureau of Meteorology warned severe flooding is likely to come with the high tide on Monday morning.
- Rosalie and Milton are among the suburbs badly hit by the floods with residents forced to flee their homes.
- At least seven people have already died in the worst flooding in the state since 2011.
New South Wales:
- About 15,000 people have been evacuated on the north coast.
- North Lismore, South Lismore, Lismore CBD, East Lismore, Girards Hill, Woodburn, Swan Bay, Coraki, Marshalls Creek and Bilinudgel are all inundated.
- Floodwaters have reached their highest levels in half a century along Wilsons River after reaching 12.26m at 5am – smashing the 12.15m record set in March 1974.
- The Bureau of Meteorology says Lismore’s Wilsons River could reach around 14.20 metres on Monday afternoon, stoking fears of unprecedented inundation in the area.
‘We’re all actually sitting on the kitchen benches in a house on stilts where the water is now 14 metres from the ground,’ Ms Witham told ABC.
‘The fridge is just about to go over. We’ve got another six inches and then we’re all going to have to, I don’t know, swim out. People next door are on the roof. We’re going to have to somehow get out and on the roof.’
Ms Witham was forced to cut the conversation short as floodwaters rose rapidly around her. She said she would try to seek higher ground and climb onto the roof.
Residents were told by the SES to evacuate or risk becoming stranded at their homes.
‘Once flood water begins inundating the area road access, water, sewerage, power, phones and internet may be lost. If you remain in the area you will be trapped and it may be too dangerous for SES to rescue you,’ the SES message read.
NSW Emergency Services Minister Stephanie Cooke said the situation in Lismore was much more severe than forecast on Sunday, straining the resources of SES.
‘We are putting every single available emergency services personnel and resources in place to support the community,’ Ms Cooke told radio 2GB.
‘We appreciate that this situation is absolutely heartbreaking.’
The government was ‘throwing everything’ it had at the crisis, and resources from RFS, NSW Fire and Rescue, police and ambulance, and SES were headed to the area as part of a ‘multi-agency response’, she said.
Floodwaters have reached their highest levels in half a century along Wilsons River after reaching 12.26m at 5am – smashing the 12.15m record set in March 1974 (pictured, business owner kayaks across flood waters in Rosalie, Brisbane)
Lismore locals band together to help rescue each other from the rising floodwaters
A man wades through floodwaters reaching up to his shoulders in Milton, Brisbane
The flood situation in Lismore was ‘worsening’, with hundreds of calls for assistance from the area, and the search for a man missing in floodwaters suspended until conditions allow it to resume, NSW police said.
Police heard the man call out for help about 4pm on Sunday but lost sight of him a short time later, with reports suggesting he may have been swept into a storm drain.
Richmond Police District put up a warning online telling motorists to avoid travelling in the region.
‘Due to heavy flooding the Lismore CBD is inundated with water and is now off limits to all pedestrian and vehicular traffic,’ the warning reads.
‘Motorists are reminded NOT to drive through flood waters … for the safety of YOU and your FAMILY please evacuate the township now.’
Major flood warnings are in place for Clarence River at Grafton, Ulmarra, Maclean, Brunswick River and Marshalls Creek.
The BoM is warning of the potential for life-threatening flash flooding with six-hourly rainfall totals between 80 and 120mm likely, possibly reaching in excess of 150mm.
A stranded Mazda abandoned with floodwaters continuing to rise in the area on Monday
People take shelter at an evacuation centre in Ipswich, west of Brisbane, on Sunday
Lismore residents have been quick to lend a helping hand in rescue efforts as the SES is overhwlemed with calls for help
Brisbane City Council issued a text message (pictured) to residents warning of major flooding
Suburbs from Pullenvale to Mt Crosby in Brisbane’s west could be cut off for days due to rising floodwaters and dangerous conditions, as emergency services scramble to provide supplies to residents.
A child who was stranded in the area without an insulin pump was transported by the SES via boat on Sunday morning and taken to Royal Childrens Hospital after Moggill Road was completely submerged.
The ferry cannot operate in the area due to heavy debris in the river, including cars, damaged property and trees.
Dramatic footage of another emerged on Sunday after Lockyer Valley resident Shane Dickson waded into dangerous waters to save a man named Leo.
Mr Dickson and a friend said they heard a man screaming while standing beside the rising floodwaters, before seeing a man named Leo being washed downstream.
‘Help, I can’t breathe,’ Leo said, as he disappeared underwater three times.
The pair followed him for more than 300metres before Mr Dickson swum into the water and dragged him to safety.
‘I thought I seen someone in the water and that was it, there was,’ Mr Dickson said.
‘Had to go about 300 metres off the road (to get to him). I had to wait to get my breath back to get him.’
Dramatic footage has emerged of a rescue from a local hero on Saturday night after Lockyer Valley resident Shane Dickson waded into dangerous waters to save a man named Leo (pictured
The men followed Leo for more than 300metres before Mr Dickson swum into the water and dragged him to safety
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