Cairns Flood: Incredible Moment Aussie Guy Saves Shaking, Distressed Flood Victim While Clinging To A Tree
Extraordinary footage has emerged of a man being rescued after clinging to a tree high above the water in Far North Queensland.
The region was hit by its worst flooding in almost 50 years in the wake of ex-tropical Cyclone Jasper, with 600mm of rain falling in 40 hours to Monday morning.
Local resident Gavin Dear filmed the incredible moment he spotted the man high in a tree above the Annan River near Rossville, 200km north of Cairns.
Mr Dear and his son took their tinnie along the flooded river on Monday after hearing rumors that people were stranded on the roof of his local pub, the Lion's Den Hotel.
Video shows the small boat wading through murky waters before a cry for help comes from a nearby forest.
Local resident Gavin Dear filmed the incredible moment he spotted the man high in a tree above the Annan River near Rossville, 200km north of Cairns (pictured)
The man was seen clinging to branches high in a tree above the flooded Annan River (pictured)
The man and Mr. Dear shout back and forth as the locals desperately try to locate him.
“We got you, we got you,” Mr Dear can be heard shouting at the man in a video shared on Facebook.
Mr. Dear steers the boat toward the man sitting high in the tree, clinging to the branches.
He asks if the man can go down, to which he replies, “Yes.” I'm completely cramped.'
Mr Dear described the man shown in the video – the second person he rescued from a tree – as being “in quite a shaken state”.
He explained that a shipping container almost collided with the man on Sunday evening as it floated past him.
“The second guy had uncontrollable tremors and he was hallucinating,” Mr Dear said Today on Tuesday.
“He said he just saw a body wash past him with a crocodile on it, but I think that was one of his hallucinations.”
Mr Dear explained that both his properties were flooded so it 'made sense' for him to take his tinnie up the river to see how he could help.
The Rossville local said the 'real hero' was a helicopter pilot known as 'Magoo' who flew in to help rescue those stranded on the roof of the pub.
“The real hero of the story is Magoo, the helicopter pilot who was a friend of a friend of the Den,” Mr Dear said.
“He made 16 helicopter flights, landed on the roof there and took them all out one by one. We watched him go over us while we were rescuing these two guys.”
More to come…