Authorities in Australia have discovered two bodies in a vehicle while conducting a search operation for Chinese backpackers who vanished in Queensland’s flood-ravaged areas, according to reports from Thursday.
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation stated that police sources confirmed the bodies found in the car are believed to be the missing tourists.
Emergency responders and police diving teams were dispatched to the Gympie region in Queensland on Thursday to verify the identities of the deceased, ABC News reported.
According to an official police statement, the missing travelers – a man aged 26 and a woman aged 23 – had been journeying toward North Burnett in Queensland, located approximately 380 kilometers (236 miles) northwest of state capital Brisbane.
Gympie’s mayor Glen Hartwig called the situation an “absolute tragedy.”
“These people have come to Australia to see our beautiful country … and tragically they’ve ended up losing their lives,” Hartwig stated to ABC News.
Severe flood alerts continue across sections of Queensland and the Northern Territory following relentless rainfall that caused waterways to overflow, isolating rural communities and prompting the evacuation of hundreds of people.
Television coverage from Wednesday showed a helicopter rescuing two individuals from a vehicle trapped in crocodile-infested waters at a creek crossing close to Katherine in Northern Territory.
Officials have advised residents against attempting to drive through flood zones, noting that multiple crocodiles have been spotted in flooded neighborhoods surrounding Katherine.
