Fears fruit workers 'surprised by flood' as death toll climbs to six

POLICE say two fruit farm workers may have been taken by surprise by a flooded creek, after two men's bodies were found near Gatton today.

POLICE fear two itinerant fruit farm workers may have been taken by surprise by a fast-flowing flooded creek in the Lockyer Valley, after two men's bodies were found today.

Police have now confirmed that they've found the body of a missing man, a 25-year-old Taiwanese national,  upstream from the site of a submerged car at Sandy Creek, where another man had earlier been found.

The grisly find brings the Queensland floods death toll to six.

The body the other man, believed to be a 34-year-old Malaysian national, was found in a silver Toyota Camry in Sandy Creek at Glen Cairn, between Laidley and Gatton, today. The Taiwanese man's submerged white Mitsubishi Magna was discovered in the creek yesterday.

Police believe the pair were traveling separately from Gatton to nearby Mulgowie to work at a farm on Sunday morning, but did not arrive.

Inspector Richard Kroon said Sandy Creek was dangerous when flooded and covered the road.

"The water flows through there quite rapidly, and I guess that would be a reasonable assumption that people who would be unfamiliar with the area, it could be quite a surprise to them," Insp Kroon said. Today, the water had dropped significantly, but it was clear the water had been much higher. The high water mark appeared to be at least two meters above the two-metre flood indicator in the creek.

The new discoveries brings the death toll to six, following the death of three-year-old Angus Weedon in Brisbane, who was crushed when a tree fell on him and his mother, also critically injured.

A young man who went missing while swimming in floodwaters at Maryborough has been found alive and well. He had been seen swimming between the Queensland city's courthouse and Lennox Street on Monday night.

Police said the man, whose age is not known, was found on Wednesday afternoon.

Meanwhile, three people have been charging with looting in the flood-bound Queensland town of Gympie.

Two of them are girls, aged 16 and 14 respectively, who are alleged to have entered a store on Sunday night to steal as the town flooded.

A man, 25, is alleged to have walked through the open doors of flooded Gympie hotel on Monday and stole property.

All three have been charged with stealing by looting – carrying a premium maximum sentence during times of natural disaster of up to 10 years’ jail – and other offences.

Police are sending reinforcements to flooded towns to guard against looting.

Premier Campbell Newman has described the crime as the “lowest act’’.

Separately, a 23-year-old Gympie man has been charged with causing public nuisance after allegedly entering flood waters.
 

 Additional reporting: AAP