‘Miracle’ flood rescue as driver saved after ‘bouncing off trees’

Emergency services said a driver became lost in a rural area of Kangaroo Valley after following the wrong GPS coordinates, before he went down a one way street and attempted to cross a flooded causeway.

Fire and Rescue NSW Chad Wallace told 9News the car was washed off the causeway, which had half-a-metre of water on it.

“He was swept 200 metres down the creek bouncing off trees and the riverbank then came to rest against a tree with around 20 metres of flowing water around him,” he said.

Mr Wallace described the rescue as a “superhuman” multiagency response and the driver was brought to safety with no significant injuries.

“The man was rescued from the car in an extremely technical rescue,” he said.

“It was a superhuman effort from the helicopter pilot and helicopter crew who were able to winch a crewman down to the man…he was able to lasso the driver and pull him out.”

He added there are puppies in the car and emergency services are working out a way to rescue the dogs.

“They’re in the car and they are safe,” Mr Wallace said.

“We are working out a plan to rescue those puppies in the next few hours.”