A man has been miraculously rescued from the fast flowing waters of the Brisbane River after onlookers spotted him desperately clinging to a dinghy.
The man was captured flailing around in the brown waters of the river in the city’s CBD on Monday before clambering on top of the upturned boat.
He is seen being quickly swept along with the fast-moving currents of the Brisbane River as concerned spectators watch from a building on the bank.
The man is quickly swept along the fast-moving currents of the Brisbane River as concerned spectators watch from the bank (pictured)
‘He’ll make it to that boat. He’ll be right,’ one woman encourages as the man uses his arms to guide the dinghy towards a group of boats further downstream.
‘How the f*** did he end up there,’ another man questions.
The man in the water calls out for help as he approaches the catamaran and reaches out an arm to grab a nearby rope.
As he grabs onto the back of the boat the relief on the bank is palpable, as a man onboard hauls the relieved swimmer out of the water to safety.
‘My heart is pumping so hard,’ a woman watching says.
As he grabs onto the back of the catamaran the relief on the bank is palpable, as a man onboard hauls the relieved swimmer out of the water (pictured)
A group of people, including a man who rides his bike through the waist-deep water, are seen making their way over to the swimmer to help.
Social media users were quick to share their thoughts on the heart-stopping footage, with many commenting the man was lucky to be alive.
‘OMG. How lucky was he that the current swept him into those boats,’ one said.
‘I had to take a moment when he vanished but so glad he grabbed the boat. Glad you’re safe fella,’ another commented.
‘That’s the Aussie spirit we all need to band together to help anyone in need,’ a third user shared.
The close call comes as large swathes of Queensland’s southeast and NSW’s northeast are hammered with a relentless deluge causing life-threatening floods.
The close call comes as large swathes of Queensland’s southeast and NSW’s northeast are hammered with a relentless deluge causing life-threatening floods (pictured, a police officer carries a child in Lismore on Monday)
The Brisbane River peaked at 3.85m at 8am on Monday, the highest level seen since the devastating floods of 2011 (pictured, rescue efforts in Lismore)
The Brisbane River peaked at 3.85m at 8am on Monday, the highest level seen since the devastating floods of 2011 – with authorities warning residents of 140 suburbs.
Two catastrophic peaks are expected on Monday night and Tuesday morning.
In Brisbane, 53,000 households are currently without power and 15,000 homes have been flooded with eight dead and at least four still missing.
There are 12 evacuation orders in place across the state’s north, affecting close to 16,000 people, while six areas are under evacuation warnings, covering around 14,000 people.
In Gympie, two hours north of Brisbane, more than 1,000 homes have been submerged in water in the town’s worst flood in over a century.
The region was declared a disaster area on Saturday, with hundreds forced to leave their homes and seek refuge in crowded evacuation centres.
‘We have around 550 people in the Gympie evacuation centre and a total of 1,040 across the state,’ Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said.
In Brisbane, 53,000 households are currently without power and 15,000 homes have been flooded (pictured, a man is wrapped in a blanket in Lismore on Monday)
In Gympie, two hours north of Brisbane, more than 1,000 homes have been submerged in water in the town’s worst flood in over a century (pictured, a man carries a child in Lismore)
‘We haven’t really experienced this much rain in such a short period of time before.’
It follows harrowing scenes in the state’s north with dozens of families rescued from the roofs of their homes by helicopters and boats earlier on Monday with reports there are up to 400 people unaccounted for.
The flood crisis is widening, with multiple major flood warnings for northeastern NSW including the Tweed, Richmond, Wilsons, Bellinger and Clarence rivers.
State Emergency Services Commissioner Carlene York is co-ordinating a multi-agency response which includes the ADF, NSW Fire and Rescue, police and ambulance, but she admits the weather is making it difficult to get helicopters into the air and boats into the water.
She urged people to heed evacuation warnings, saying otherwise the SES ‘can’t promise to respond at a later stage if you do get into difficulty’.
State Emergency Services Commissioner Carlene York is co-ordinating a multi-agency response which includes the ADF, NSW Fire and Rescue, police and ambulance (pictured, residents and pets were evacuated in Lismore on Monday)
In the past 24 hours there have been 500 flood rescues and 927 requests for help and the premier is warning conditions in the north have not peaked (pictured, a flooded home in Maryborough where the Mary River has burst its banks)
In the past 24 hours there have been 500 flood rescues and 927 requests for help and the premier is warning conditions in the north have not peaked.
QFES has made more than 100 swift-water rescues amid 8000 calls for help in the Brisbane, Ipswich, Sunshine Coast and Gold Coast since 3pm on Sunday.
Some 15,000 people have already been evacuated along the NSW north coast with thousands more stranded and hundreds of calls to the State Emergency Service.
Families raced to higher ground on Monday morning as rivers burst their banks from torrential rains slamming NSW and south-east Queensland.
People were forced to dispose of their waterlogged belongings after torrential rain and widespread flooding caused chaos over the weekend (pictured, residents in Albion, Brisbane)
Floodwaters have claimed the lives of eight people in Queensland alone – the latest a man aged in his 50s and his dog who were found in a car in Currumbin Valley.
The vehicle had been driven 30 to 40 metres into floodwaters and couldn’t be located by emergency services.
Surf lifesavers discovered the submerged vehicle just after 10.45am about 10 metres from the roadway with the man and dog still inside.
While the rain in Brisbane has eased, the flood emergency is far from over with the Brisbane River expected to peak again on Monday night around 8pm.
Another significant peak to 3.7m is expected 9am on Tuesday.
