Soldiers shocked by scale of task at ground zero

THE policeman heading the search for bodies in the Lockyer Valley has declared the disaster zone the worst he has ever witnessed.

THE policeman heading the grim and slow search for bodies in the Lockyer Valley yesterday declared the disaster zone to be the worst he had ever witnessed.

Inspector Mark Kelly, who is in charge of the search and rescue operation, said he was working to manage stress and fatigue among his officers.

"This is worse than anything I've seen anywhere else in my career," Inspector Kelly, who has been on the force for 22 years, said yesterday.

Inspector Kelly said his officers were well trained and well equipped, but there was a difference between training and experience.

"You've got to see the signs -- give them a day off or something else to do," he said.

"This is a horrific event, but we've got to get through it.

"This is an extremely significant task, but it's one that we've got to achieve."

Major Nathan Ravenscroft, who is in charge of the troops working in Grantham, yesterday revealed the scale of the challenge.

"Sometimes we've had to get through two metres of silt," he said.

"What we're faced with is following every one of those creeks as far as we can go.

"The enormity of the task is really what the risk is -- there's so much mud and debris. It's not what our soldiers expected to be doing over Christmas 2011."

More than 200 defence personnel have been helping police search dozens of buildings, kilometres of riverbeds and hectares of farmland for bodies, before many residents of the Lockyer Valley town can inspect their homes.

Most of the diggers come from the Enoggera army barracks near Brisbane.

Most are in their early 20s, and for many it is their first significant deployment to a disaster zone.

Gunner Chris Gibb said yesterday the scale of the task was daunting, but he and his colleagues were eager to help wherever they could.

"For a lot of the young guys we've got out here, this would be the first time they've experienced something like this, but they're taking it head up," he said.

Gunner Gibb acknowledged that his first sight of the damage been a shock.

"I didn't expect to see the level of devastation I did see," he said.

The army provides counselling services, which troops yesterday said they were using.

The search teams spent most of Sunday walking the length of every creek, river and culvert, and yesterday were combing farmland and helping police do second searches at a number of homes.

On Sunday, a woman's body was discovered at a property only on the third search attempt.

Inspector Kelly refused to provide a timetable for allowing residents back into flood-affected parts of Grantham, saying the search had to finish first.

Defence support for the flood crisis was bolstered yesterday with the deployment of a navy minesweeper that went straight to work last night searching for debris obstructing the main Brisbane River shipping channel.

HMAS Huon's powerful sonar will prove vital in the detection of underwater obstacles posing a danger to shipping.

The mine hunter was assisted by two Royal Australian Navy hydrographic ships, Shepparton and Paluma.