Kiwi Michael Adair and colleague Mark Overton talk to the couple during the rescue mission. Photo: LifeFlight
A couple have been rescued after their four-wheel drive was washed away in crocodile-infested flood waters in north-west Queensland.
The couple, aged in their 50s, were stranded in the remote Gulf of Carpentaria after departing Normanton on last Thursday for Kowanyama.
Emergency services were notified early on Saturday after a friend reported the couple overdue.
New Zealand pilot Michael Adair was first on the scene in what was his first week working at LifeFlight.
It is believed the couple had attempted to drive across a river crossing north-west of Staaten River National Park when the vehicle was overcome by a wave of floodwater.
The couple told the Mount Isa LifeFlight rescue crew that they had to scramble out of the passenger window and swim through crocodile-infested waters to escape.
The male driver had to swim back into the vehicle to free their two dogs before he could swim to shore.
The couple endured three days and two terrifying nights with a large crocodile stalking them. They were without phones, mobile reception, or food and drinking water to survive in the 40-degree heat.
It was experienced pilot Michael Adair's first week working at LifeFlight and he said the couple had lost hope they would be rescued.
"They said, 'Thank God you're here, we didn't think anyone was coming,'" he said.
"The wife had told us she had been hearing voices in the bush from exposure and had convinced herself that nobody was coming to help them, so she was very emotional when we hugged her."
Adair said the pair had written two large SOS signs in the dirt and were frantically waving up at the helicopter when they were spotted.
He said the couple were in good spirits when the helicopter arrived.
"These people had resigned themselves to dying and seeing the look on their faces when they saw us and realised they weren't going to die - that's the reason we do this," he said.
"They were very happy and jovial to see us and then the reality of the fact that hey … they're about to be rescued - that's when the emotion welled up."
Flight examiner Mark Overton was with Adair as a copilot during the search and rescue.
Overton said the couple's car flooded quickly and the electric windows locked, but the pair managed to get out of the passenger window.
"The man had to dive down to retrieve their two dogs who were limp by the time he got to them, but they were OK," he said.
"They had a cattle dog and a rusty red mix red dog we called Bluey and Bingo.
"It was a bit of a clown car trying to get six people and two dogs into a three and a half tonne helicopter, but we did it and they were pretty relieved."
The pair were treated for dehydration and exposure and airlifted to the Normanton Hospital for further treatment.
-ABC
