RACQ Capricorn Helicopter Rescue 300 crew nominated for Pride of Australia Medal

THEIR miraculous rescue of a toddler during Queensland's January floods made headlines around the world.

THEIR miraculous rescue of a toddler during Queensland's January floods made headlines around the world.

But the dramatic footage told only part of the incredible story of the Rescue 300 chopper crew on the Australia Day weekend.

With heavy rain and poor visibility forcing them to fly at treetop heights, the crew of RACQ Capricorn Helicopter Rescue 300 - winch operator Matthew Brandon, rescue crewmen Garth Snaidero and pilot Scott Salisbury - in one day rescued nine people stranded on and in vehicles along the Capricorn Highway near Rockhampton.

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One of the rescues was of an 80-year-old woman who'd become wedged in her car with her head only just above water.

In the final rescue, a car had been washed off the road and pinned against a power pole, with its occupants forced to scramble on to the roof.

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Not only was the chopper fully loaded and low on fuel, it also had to hover perilously close to the powerlines with minimal room to manoeuvre.

During the final hoist the chopper reached its power limit and began to descend, and it was only the cool head of pilot Mr Salisbury, who kept control of the chopper until the final hoist was completed, that prevented an accident.

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The crew have been nominated for a Heroism Medal in the 2013 Pride of Australia Medal.

Nominator and former colleague Jarrod Michael said the rescue of the baby was "outstanding due to hazardous weather, the height the chopper needed to keep, time it had to stay there, length of cable needed, position of the ute, overhanging tree and fast-moving floodwaters."

Nominations will be accepted until Tuesday, July 16.

TO SEE ALL THE CATEGORIES AND NOMINATIONS, GO TO WWW.PRIDEOFAUSTRALIA.COM.AU