People Missing In Floodwaters That Inundated Uluru

A baby was feared to be among the six people who went missing on Christmas Day after setting out on the road as rain and floodwaters inundated Uluru in central Australia.

The group were in two cars and were on their way to Kintore, about 180 kilometres away, in the Northern Territory from the remote Kiwirrkurra community in Western Australia’s Gibson Desert on Sunday when the two cars were believed to have become bogged.

Police have since reported that most of the group have been found safe, but there are two people still missing after they had set off on foot looking for help.

Acting Superintendent Brendan Muldoon said that concerns are growing for the missing persons as the area has poor phone reception and search efforts have been hampered by the extreme weather – that led to the temporary closure of Uluru earlier this week. “This section of Australia is extremely remote, there’s no phone reception. We believe they are from a remote indigenous community, we’re not sure what resources they have. We’re seriously concerned for their welfare and are putting all our efforts to making sure we get out there as soon as we can,” he said.

Police are hoping to do an aerial search of the area now that conditions have improved.

Search efforts also began after a foreign tourist who was trapped in a car was washed away by floodwaters, but has since been safely rescued.

Two men and a woman were inside the small sedan when it was swept downstream at the Hugh River around 1pm local time on Tuesday. The driver and another passenger were able to escape but the third person was trapped as the vehicle was washed off the causeway on Larrapinta Drive into the Hugh River.

Acting Superintendent Brendan Muldoon told reporters in Darwin that officers launched a search after the vehicle went missing. “We’re told by witnesses it rolled over a couple of times and was wedged up against a tree,” he said. All the people involved have now been found and are being treated in hospital for minor injuries.

Source: Dailymail.co.uk & 9News