Add Category
A group of travellers stranded in flooded bushland in Western Australia's outback Goldfields have touched down in Kalgoorlie-Boulder after a successful rescue.
The group was located next to a bogged vehicle late on Wednesday in the remote Goldfields after a three-day search, amid some of the worst floods the region has seen in living memory.
The three elderly adults and four children were found about 220 kilometres south-west of the remote Aboriginal community of Tjuntjuntjara.
They had left Kalgoorlie-Boulder for Tjuntjuntjara on Sunday in two four-wheel-drives and abandoned one of the vehicles after becoming bogged.
The group included senior elder and celebrated artist Mr Walker, 74, and Noeli Rictor, whose family was the last known group of Aboriginal people to live a nomadic life in Australia.
Weather break helped rescuers
A break in the weather allowed authorities to dispatch a rescue helicopter on Thursday morning.
They appeared in good spirits when they landed, and are set to undergo further medical assessment.
Goldfields-Esperance District Police Inspector Mick Kelly said it was happy news.
"It's brilliant to bring these people home, and to eventually be able to safely return them to their community," he said.
"It's devastating when people find themselves in a situation where they're bogged.
"The remoteness, the lack of connectivity, the isolation, the amount of rain that's fallen in that area is astronomical."
The group's decision to remain with the vehicle helped police searchers spot them from the air.
But the flooded conditions and fading light ruled out an evening rescue.
Hot meal and a good night's sleep
Inspector Kelly said supplies, including medicine, blankets and food, were airlifted to the group from Kalgoorlie, allowing them to brave another night in the bush.
"My understanding is that they're well, but will need medical attention to be checked out," he said.
"They're looking forward to a hot meal and a good night's sleep."
He described Wednesday's rescue as a "hot landing", which involved being above the surface without physically stopping on the ground.
He said police would work with the Department of Communities to help the group return home to Tjuntjuntjara when it was safe to do so.
Paupiyala Tjarutja Aboriginal Corporation chief executive Jon Lark said it was happy news for the community.
"If I was going to be stuck in the desert with anyone, I would want to be with Noeli [Rictor] or Mr Walker," he said.
Inspector Kelly said news of the successful rescue had been shared with the group's relatives and Tjuntjuntjara's 200-strong population.
Cyclone threat wanes
The weather bureau is warning those in coastal parts of WA's north-west, they could see large seas, swells and storm activity in the coming days as a tropical low tracks offshore.
The system could form into a category one cyclone by Sunday with the potential for a crossing somewhere around the Pilbara or down into the Gascoyne next week.
However, it is most likely to remain offshore.
Bureau of Meteorology forecaster Daniel Hayes said the low hadn't become a "well-formed" structured system yet and is still elongated, adding to the uncertainty of where it could track.
"It'll continue to be pushed by the monsoonal flow to the east, but we need to see it form up and then the steering will firm up over the course of the next few days."
Loading