Eight people, seven puppies and a hungry baby rescued from floodwaters

Flash floods isolate three people

Fire and Rescue NSW crews working with the SES and paramedics rescued three people and seven puppies trapped in rugged terrain in floodwaters, 50km from Casino.

The joint team was deployed to reach a seriously traumatised woman who was stranded with others when two flash floods destroyed a bridge leading to her remote home on Tuesday night.

The rescue team trekked 5km to the washed-out bridge and used ropes to scale their way 25-metres across a 10-metre drop.

They carried their Ark Angel boat and medical supplies 1.5km to the property.

The woman was treated on the scene. She is a dog breeder, who was sheltering at a neighbour’s home.

Puppy rescue

They rescue crew got an aluminum ladder from a neighbouring home and guided the people and a litter of Chihuahua puppies to safety for the walk back to their cars.

The residents and dogs were taken to a local evacuation centre.

Baby stranded at Tatham

In a second rescue on the same day, FRNSW experts teamed up with a Victorian SES crew to reach a family including a baby, which had run out of supplies and were stranded at Tatham near Casino.

The family of two adults and three children, aged three-months and about four and six, were surrounded by water in their home, which had lost power and water supplies.

They had also run out of food for the baby.

The passing FRNSW and SES teams in an SES flood boat were alerted by the family and hatched a quick rescue plan.

They reached the stranded family and fitted them with lifejackets, bringing them aboard the boat.

The family was taken to the opposite side of the flooded Richmond River where the children’s grandmother was waiting to take them to her Goonellabah home.