CANBERRA (Reuters) – Australian police said on Wednesday they had rescued a man who was forced to cling to a tree for more than six hours after rising floodwaters swept his car from the road in Australia’s remote Northern Territory, according to local media.
The unnamed 33-year old man was driving near the Todd River in Alice Springs when localised flooding swept his car away, after nearly 100 mm of rain over 24 hours, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) said.
Craig Laidlaw, Northern Territory Acting Assistant Commissioner for regional and remote policing, told the ABC that the man had been able to free himself from the car and held on to a tree to wait for help.
To avoid putting others at risk, the police said it took over six hours for the fire service to rescue the man just before midday local time (0100 GMT), according to the ABC.
“They had a zip line set up, and they were able to bring him to safety as the water level started to drop,” Laidlaw was quoted as saying.
Laidlaw said the man was unharmed but would be checked at a local hospital, according to the ABC.
(Reporting by Colin Packham; Editing by Ana Nicolaci da Costa)
