16 Dec 2012

Seven swept downstream in Outback

12:47 pm on 16 December 2012

Police are warning people in Mount Isa to stay away from the flooded Leichhardt River after seven people were swept from a crossing in outback Queensland.

A teenage girl was taken to hospital after being dragged downriver.

She was one of five who were swept off a crossing in Mount Isa at about 5.30am (AEST) on Sunday.

Four managed to swim to safety, but the girl was washed 1.5km downstream before she could make it to land, police told AAP.

She was not injured but was taken to hospital as a precaution.

Two other people, a man and a woman, were also washed from the crossing about 11.30pm on Saturday. AAP reports they also managed to swim to safety.

Detective Inspector Trevor Kidd said heavy rain had caused the usual dry Leichhardt River to flood and warned people not to drive or walk through it.

"It happens every year, but people continue to ignore the closure signs and ignore the flooding, we're very fortunate that someone wasn't drowned or seriously injured," he told ABC Radio.