An Australian TV reporter swam into rising floodwater and pulled a stranger from a sinking four-wheel-drive seconds before it went completely underwater.
Quick Take
- Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) reporter Will Murray and an unnamed bystander rescued a driver from a sinking vehicle on Buchanan Road in Morayfield, north of Brisbane.
- Camera operator Liz Pickering filmed the rescue and said the two men “undoubtedly saved that man’s life.”
- About 170 millimeters of rain had fallen in the area, and Queensland fire officials had warned people not to enter floodwater.
- Murray says he forced open a rear door of the car and helped guide the driver to safety.
- The identities of the driver and the second rescuer have not been released.
Reporter Jumps In As Car Goes Under
The rescue happened on October 22, 2026, on Buchanan Road in Morayfield, a town north of Brisbane in Queensland, Australia. Video shows Murray and another man reaching a stalled four-wheel-drive and pulling the driver out just before the vehicle sank fully underwater. ABC footage captured the same sequence, showing the car disappear beneath the floodwater moments after the rescue.
Pickering, the ABC camera operator who filmed the scene, said she watched Murray enter the water and knew the situation had turned into a life-or-death moment. “Those two undoubtedly saved that man’s life,” she said. “There’s no doubt about it”. Her account, paired with the video, gives a clear picture of how fast the rescue unfolded on the flooded road.
Murray Describes Forcing Open A Door
Murray later described what happened in his own words. He said he handed his phone to Pickering, swam toward the sinking vehicle, and first tried to open the driver’s door. When that failed, he forced open a rear passenger-side door and helped the trapped driver move toward shallow water. The account matches the video timeline showing the rescue completed just before full submersion.
Reports describe the vehicle as a four-wheel-drive that stalled in rising water before beginning to sink. A second man, whose identity has not been made public, joined Murray in the water and helped pull the driver free. News outlets covering the event consistently describe this as a two-person rescue effort, not a solo action by the reporter alone.
Heavy Rain Created Dangerous Conditions
The rescue took place during severe flooding in the region. Roughly 170 millimeters of rain had fallen around Morayfield, turning normally passable roads into fast-moving hazards. Queensland’s fire department had already warned residents not to swim through floodwater, a message repeated often during flood events in the state.
Queensland authorities have long said floodwater is the state’s leading cause of flood-related deaths, warning that driving or walking through it is especially dangerous. Officials note water as shallow as 15 centimeters can move a car, and conditions that look calm on the surface can hide fast currents underneath. That standing warning adds weight to how risky Murray’s decision to enter the water actually was, even as it ended in a successful rescue.
An Australian television reporter and a bystander pulled a man from his car moments before it disappeared beneath floodwater north of Brisbane on Thursday.
ABC journalist Will Murray was covering the floods in Queensland when a four-wheel drive stalled in deep water and began to… pic.twitter.com/M5ZL8Vr5be
— AnewZ (@Anewz_tv) October 22, 2026
No official statement from police, paramedics, or hospital staff has been reported confirming the driver’s medical condition after the rescue. The driver’s name and the identity of the second rescuer also remain unknown in current coverage. What is firmly established, through video and multiple firsthand accounts, is that two men reached a sinking car in dangerous floodwater and got the driver out before it went under.
The incident adds to a familiar pattern in flood-prone parts of Australia, where ordinary drives on local roads can turn into emergencies within minutes. It also highlights the tension between official safety warnings against entering floodwater and the split-second decisions bystanders sometimes make when they believe a life is at stake.
Sources:
youtube.com, abc.net.au, brisbanetimes.com.au, news.com.au
