Two quick-thinking teenagers and the heroic actions of a helicopter pilot and a police officer saved the lives of two people and a dog in the flood-riddled Katherine region. The rescue unfolded on Wednesday afternoon when two teenagers were fishing in a flooded creek, when they watched a vehicle plow through floodwaters on the Victoria Highway, en route to Western Australia, and became worried when the car had not returned after a while.
The stranded vehicle had become trapped in rapidly rising water, placing its occupants in immediate danger. With no means of reaching the travellers in the fast-flowing and rising floodwater, emergency crews tried to get a helicopter with winch capacity when a private helicopter appeared, flew overhead, looped around the scene and landed on the road. The pilot offered to take a police officer across to the car and rest a skid on the roof to get the people safely out of danger.
The pilot, local flying legend and former owner of Katherine Helicopters John Armstrong, dropped a police officer on top of the car, before rescuing the driver and the passenger. The travellers stood on the creek's guard rails, clinging to their vehicle, while waiting to be rescued. The timing proved critical. Homes and roads in and around Katherine have been inundated since the weekend, when the Katherine River peaked at 19.20 metres in the biggest flood that region has seen in two decades.
The rescue highlighted the dangers residents face during extreme flooding. The travellers and their dog were lucky to be alive, and authorities urged travellers to be careful in current conditions, saying "this is a very good example why people should not drive through flooded water." Police in Australia's Northern Territory warned of crocodiles "absolutely everywhere" and said they had moved more than 1,000 people across the state into shelter after massive floods. The state has endured heavy rains over the weekend, with the town of Katherine experiencing its worst flooding since 1998.
Member for Katherine, Jo Hersey, praised the rescue mission, saying "what a fantastic effort by the Police and NTES crew. Rescuing both occupants and their pet by smashing the window of the car." The successful operation demonstrated the critical importance of emergency preparedness and community alertness during natural disasters that pose multiple hazards at once.