SA storms: Fishermen rescued from breakwater as caravan washes away after sucked under Currency Creek bridge

A group of fishermen are lucky to be alive after rising tides trapped them on Sunday morning – as astonishing video shows the moment a caravan crumples against a bridge.

A group of fishermen have been rescued off an Adelaide breakwater as the mammoth clean-up operation continues from the weekend’s wild storms.

Rising tides and wild strong winds trapped the nine men after they had walked out to the St Kilda breakwater just after 7.30am on Sunday.

The alarm was raised 40 minutes later as the rising tides threatened to engulf the group, who have not been identified.

Owners of the local fishing shop Tackle and Tucker, siblings Michael and Robyn Cook, were the first port of call for the floundering men.

Mr Cook said the men were in over their heads in the giant waves.

“If something goes on out here, we’re the ones they ring,” Mr Cook said.

The scene of the rescue of the nine fishermen who were trapped by the rising tide at St Kilda. All survived uninjured. Picture: Robyn Cook

“We’ve had a tidal surge from the storm so it was probably up to about three metres.”

He said some of the men were just in shorts and a T-shirt while others were in waders.

“When you’re wearing waders, it can be like a plastic bag and it fills up with water.”

The men were out at he end of the one-kilmeter long breakwater clinging to a light pole.

Having experienced emergency situations on the water before, Mr Cook acted quickly and from then on the men were in safe hands.

“We rang the water police and 15 cops and a couple of ambulances turned up,” he said.

“They brought a rubber duck (inflatable rescue boat) out and went up and got them.

“The rescue team brought them into the shop here and Robyn’s given them cups of tea.”

Ambulance personnel checked the men for hypothermia but luckily they came out unscathed.

Officers also retrieved the men’s fishing gear.

But Mr Cook said this incident will not deter people from taking risks in inclement weather.

And he expects the fish will entice the men back to the breakwater soon.

“It’s happened before and it’ll happen again,” Mr Cook said.

“Next weekend they’ll probably be back.”

We were expecting storms in Adelaide today but not a mini cyclone!!! This is outside our place in Warradale when the big front hit..!! @theTiser@7NewsAdelaide@9NewsAdel@abcadelaide#storm#adelaide#wildweather#springtime#storms#winds#windywarradalepic.twitter.com/BOYbhHeDNR

— Dr Anna Petts (Regolith Geoscience) (@anna_chica) November 12, 2022

FLOATING CARAVAN DESTROYED

The daring rescue emerged as new dramatic video laid bare the power of SA’s flooded creeks, which are rising after Saturday’s massive storm.

The video taken at Currency Creek’s Lions Park shows a caravan floating down the swollen river, as well as a couple of cool rooms, likely from the winery on the other side.

Mechanic Sean Sedunary of Hindmarsh Valley near Victor Harbor, who spent a lot of his afternoon trying to get past closed roads for on roadside assistance call-outs after the storm, said he arrived at the park just as the caravan was floating past.

“There was I didn’t think it would crumple like it did, – the cool rooms went under (the bridge) easy, but it just folded up,” he said.

“I wasn’t really expecting to see that – but that’s the power of water.”

Stunning pictures: Storm carves path of destruction through Adelaide

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Mr Sedunary said they arrived at the park, the caravan and part of a marquee from the winery – as well as a couple of cool rooms – were floating down the river.

“Just as we rocked up, that bridge, which was being repaired so they have scaffolding up, as we turned up that that went under the bridge too,” he said.

“ I was talking with someone sitting there and they had to keep moving their car up because the water kept rising and rising.

He said the creek at the back of his property was also bringing debris downstream.