Will Murray and a passerby swam to the vehicle in Morayfield on Thursday, 22 October, and freed the driver seconds before it went under completely.
ABC reported that about 170 millimetres (6.7 inches) of rain had fallen in Morayfield that day, while another report gave the same total within three hours.
The ABC crew called emergency services, and according to Murray, crews reached the scene about 10 minutes after the rescue. No injuries were reported.
On Thursday, 22 October, a vehicle tried to cross a flooded road in Morayfield, a suburb north of Brisbane in Queensland, and began to sink as the floodwater rose to dangerous levels. ABC journalist Will Murray was in the area reporting on the floods when it happened. Murray and a passerby swam out to the car, where they freed the driver just before it disappeared beneath the surface. ABC camera operator Liz Pickering, who was with Murray, recorded the incident on video. Murray said he did not learn the driver's name and hoped the man was well.
Accounts differ on the method. One report says the two men first tried to break the rear window, then moved to the side and pulled a door open to draw the driver out. Another says they first tried the front passenger door, which would not open, and then forced the driver's door ajar. Murray told ABC News that the rushing water may have helped build enough pressure to open the door. He told the BBC that they did not hesitate once they saw the trapped driver, and he warned that situations like this can turn into tragedy within minutes because depth and force are hard to judge. The driver told one outlet that he had not seen a sign warning of the flooded road and did not expect the water to be so deep. The three men hugged in the water before leaving the flooded section, and Murray said his adrenaline stayed very high for hours afterwards.
The ABC crew called emergency services during the rescue, and according to Murray, crews reached the scene about 10 minutes after it ended. No injuries were reported from the incident. Authorities had already issued flood warnings for the area after heavy rain. ABC reported that about 170 millimetres (6.7 inches) of rain had fallen in Morayfield that day, while another report said the same amount fell within three hours. Emergency services in the southeast of Queensland responded to hundreds of calls for help over the previous 48 hours as heavy downpours caused widespread flooding. Murray praised the emergency services, saying they deal with such situations regularly.
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An ABC reporter covering floods near Brisbane dived into the water with a passerby and pulled a driver out of his vehicle seconds before it sank completely, on Thursday, 22 October.
AI text based on reports by in.gr, ΣΚΑΪ, H Kαθημερινή and other publishers. Published .