Missing couple rescued after 4WD washes away in crocodile-infested flood waters in The Gulf

A couple aged in their 50s thought they were going to perish alone in remote Gulf country, enduring two terrifying nights stalked by a large crocodile after their 4WD was washed away in flood waters.

Floodwater swallowed the vehicle. Picture: Supplied

A couple aged in their 50s thought they were going to perish alone in remote Gulf country, enduring two terrifying nights stalked by a large crocodile after their 4WD was washed away in flood waters.

The Mount Isa-based LifeFlight aeromedical crew rescued the couple on Saturday after their 4WD washed away by flood waters in croc country in North West Queensland.

The couple were flooded in a river near Staaten River National Park. Pictures: Google / Supplied

They had been stranded in The Gulf Country North West of Staaten River National Park in 40-degree heat for three days before LifeFlight rescued them.

They had no food and were drinking from the river and thought they were going to die alone in the bush.

The rescue crew took off at 8.40am Saturday from the Mount Isa base to search for the missing couple after a friend had reported them overdue.

The lifesaving helicopter was flown by experienced Kiwi helicopter pilot Michael Adair in his first week at LifeFlight.

Mr Adair, who was more used to flying over snow and mountains, flew for six hours and 300 nautical miles over the Australian desert on Saturday.

A couple aged in there 50s are lucky to be alive after they endured two terrifying nights stalked by a large crocodile after their 4WD was washed away in flood waters. Photo: LifeFlight

The couple had left Normanton on Thursday, December 5 and had not arrived at Kowanyama.

It is believed the couple had attempted to drive across a river crossing, when the vehicle was overcome by a large wave of flood water.

They told the LifeFlight rescue crew they had to scramble out the passenger window to escape and the male driver had to swim back into the vehicle to free their two dogs before he could swim to shore.

Mr Adair said the couple couldn’t believe they were being rescued.

“They said: ‘thank God you’re here, we didn’t think anyone was coming’,” he said.

“The wife told us she had been hearing voices in the bush from exposure and had convinced herself that nobody was coming to help them, so she was very emotional when we hugged her.

“The couple had written two big SOS signs in the dirt and were frantically waving up at the helicopter as we flew over them.

“These people had resigned themselves to dying and seeing the look on their faces when they saw us and realised they weren’t going to die – that’s the reason we do this.

“She’s sort of resigned herself to the fact that this might be it, so hearing the helicopter come over the top and once we were actually out – it sounds silly, but you touch her and give her a hug and she knows that she’s not imagining it and she’s actually going to be saved – yeah it was pretty intense.

“Not only was it a really technically challenging mission, but one with a perfect outcome. It was an amazing start to my Australian rescue career.”

The couple were treated for dehydration and exposure. Picture: Supplied

Without phones or phone reception, the stranded couple wrote two large SOS signs in the dirt, which the LifeFlight crew saw from the air.

Brisbane-based LifeFlight flight examiner Mark Overton was in Mount Isa taking Michael through his final assessments and was in the co-pilot seat for yesterday’s search and rescue.

“Mike is used to flying in a completely different environment and we’ve thrown him into the middle of the outback and on his first job he’s been sent to the middle of nowhere,” he said.

“He was a bit taken aback by just how big Australia can be.”

Mark said the rescued couple told the crew they were moving from Normanton to Kowanyama and everything they owned was in the 4WD that was washed away as they attempted to cross Clarke Creek.

“The car flooded quickly, the electric windows locked, and the pair managed to get out the passenger window,” he said.

“The man had to dive down to retrieve their two dogs who were limp by the time he got to them, but they were okay.

“They had a cattle dog and a rusty red mix red dog we called Bluey and Bingo.

“It was a bit of a clown car trying to get six people and two dogs into a three and a half tonne helicopter, but we did it and they were pretty relieved.”

The couple told the crew they were terrified about a large crocodile that stalked the pair and their dogs during both nights.

They made a makeshift shelter out of branches and leaves to keep the crocodile away.

The LifeFlight chopper landed near Clark Creek near Dorunda Station, 120 km south of Kowanyama.

The pilot was able to land the chopper on the road beside the river, before the Queensland Ambulance Service flight paramedics assessed the patients.

They were treated for dehydration and exposure and loaded onto the rescue helicopter, with their two dogs, and flown to the Normanton Hospital for further treatment.

Originally published as Missing couple rescued after 4WD washes away in crocodile-infested flood waters in The Gulf