Emergency services who have been kept relatively busy in recent weeks rescuing campers stranded by floodwaters have been at it again.
A group of four overseas backpackers had to be winched to safety by a helicopter after they became trapped at a campsite in Queensland’s Far North yesterday.
They were camping at a remote site in Goldsborough Valley, about 50 kilometres south of Cairns, an area which has seen more than 400mm of rain in the past three days. Rather than risk trying to leave, the party decided to wait for the heavy rain to subside and surrounding rivers to retreat.
The Tropic Now publication reports that work colleagues raised the alarm when the campers failed to return to their jobs on the Tablelands on Tuesday.
“When the group failed to arrive at work, a friend notified police that they were missing and provided an approximate location of the group,” a police spokesperson told Tropic Now. “The group were lucky a friend knew where they were and alerted authorities before they found themselves in dire straits.”
The group reportedly had food, water and camp equipment to sustain them in the environment, but police still winched the three men and one woman from the campsite.
“Whilst no persons were injured, police search coordinators recommend those planning on going to remote areas with limited mobile phone reception to plan and prepare prior to any trip and ensure they take suitable safety equipment for the conditions, including personal Epirbs,” said the spokesperson.
It’s a a warning that has been issued before. As recently as last month, four campers and their two dogs had to be winched to safety after they became stuck at a flooded campsite at Moree in northern NSW.
