The Northern Territory’s notorious Cahills Crossing has seen its fair share of terrifying incidents over the years … but few more dramatic than this one.
A red Mitsubishi Magna – which was attempting to tail a four-wheel-drive as it made its way over Kakadu’s infamous croc-infested crossing – quickly ran into trouble.
Luckily, the two people trapped inside the stricken car were rescued by a passing tourist cruise boat, and then a group of men arrived to help remove the flooded vehicle.
The NT News reports that one of the men had the less than enviable job of jumping in the river to attach straps to the Mitsubishi while Gunbalanya officer in charge, Remote Sergeant Scott Lewis,
stood in the tray of a ute – gun in hand – watching for crocs.
The car’s occupants were initially rescued by Robbie Narmanyilk and Nik Wheatley of the Guluyambi Cultural Cruise tour, who – with stunned tourists still on the vessel – manoeuvred their boat to the vehicle so the trapped people could climb aboard.
They were then dropped on the Kakadu side of the crossing.
A tourist boat rescues two people from their stricken vehicle. PIC: Reijo Keitaanpaa/NT News
“This happens too often – we’re talking dozens of times a year,” Mr Wheatley told the NT News. “This was the third car to get stuck since April that we’ve seen.”
Jabiru resident Reijo Keitaanpaa was fishing at Cahills Crossing on May 21 when he watched the drama unfold.
“I’m pretty sure they were relieved the tour boat turned up as any attempt to walk out through the water would have washed them away,” he told the NT News.
He said the men in the white LandCruiser, which towed the car out of the water, seemed to know what they were doing.
“He was in and out pretty quickly and it looked like it hadn’t been the first time he’d done it because it was all done very quickly,” he said. “The reason for the towing out is there was traffic backing up on the Oenpelli side of the river and they had to get the car out as quickly as they could.”
Cahills Crossing was a highlight of our Lap, enjoyed watching the indigenous driver of the cruise boat yelling at the people to get back from the edge away from the 13-14 lurking crocs.
Caught some good Barra there…in between the crocs.
The fast flowing water in the photo is actually the high incoming tide pushing the fresh water upstream over the crossing. If you came back in a couple of hours it would be only be a bit over ankle deep.
Around July there is a mullet run downstream and mobs of crocs wait on the downside of the crossing snapping up hundreds of mullet being washed over the crossing….amazing to see…like something in an Attenborough doco…
The locals from Oenpelli are always getting washed off the crossing…wet or dry season.
Ohhh yeah!! Living in the Northern Territory in the early 1980’s for 15 years, there had been many stories of croc takings concerning ‘Cahill’s Crossing.”
Whilst there a man has taken in 1987 as his horrified son watched on. As a family we always treated ‘that crossing’ with the utmost respect. Even at low tide the conditions of the river crossing are slippery and at best down right dangerous!!!
As the the locals have to use this crossing on a regular basis to come into Darwin, isn’t it time the Government built a bridge over it it to keep everyone safe…… Gwynnie
A bridge over the East Alligator at Cahills crossing has been mentioned for years….but its not that simple…
The Majela R. about 20k to the east also becomes impassable most of the wet season….between that and Cahills crossing is many kilometers of floodout and floodplain country that holds well over a metre of water a fair while after the wet season.