A desperate search is underway for a father who went missing at a lake in Far North Queensland on Sunday while trying to save the lives of his two children.
Key points:
- The 49-year-old man failed to resurface at Lake Tinaroo after helping his children reach the shore
- Police divers have been flown from Brisbane to join the search
- Inspector Mark Henderson says as more time passes "it looks like it's going to be a tragic outcome"
Queensland Police Inspector Mark Henderson said the 49-year-old local man was swimming with his children, aged seven and 10, at Lake Tinaroo south west of Cairns, when the pair got into difficulty at about 11am as they were returning to shore.
"The father has swum out to rescue them — he's been successful in rescuing them, but unfortunately he's then gone down," Inspector Henderson said.
"He hasn't been seen since.
"We have thrown all resources at it, but as time goes by, unfortunately it looks like it's going to be a tragic outcome."
Inspector Henderson said search crews were dealing with challenging conditions, with limited visibility in the water due to mud and weeds.
He said police divers had been flown in from Brisbane, and SES crews and local police were also involved in the search using helicopters, boats and drones.
The man's wife was flying back from Melbourne at the time of her husband's disappearance, and was told of the situation by police on her arrival at the Cairns Airport.
Inspector Henderson commended several members of the public who were also at the popular water skiing site for their efforts to help find the man.
"They all rallied to try and help, swimming and diving down themselves, there was a lot of work done by those on the lake," he said.
"There was no family present for those two young children so thankfully another family that were up visiting for the day took the kids in while the search continued."