Disaster tourism: no photo is worth your life

ACT Policing is urging the Canberra community not to risk their own or the lives of emergency services workers to rescue them from floodwaters.

About 7.30pm yesterday (Tuesday 24 March 2021), police received a request for assistance following reports of a woman falling into the swollen river at Kambah Pool.

The woman and her two friends were in the area taking photos for social media of the flooded river.

The woman moved closer to the river to take a photo and slipped on the wet rocks and fell into the fast flowing water.

She was swept further down the river until she was able to secure herself on a tree.

ACT Policing with the assistance of ACT Fire & Rescue completed a swift water rescue. Firefighters used throw bags and ropes to safely retrieve the woman from the water.

Detective Inspector Simon Coady said the message was simple - stay away from drains, floodwaters and swollen rivers.

“The woman rescued from Kambah Pool was lucky to escape with no major injury because today we could have been talking about a very different outcome,” Detective Inspector Coady said.

“There is no photo or social media post that is worth risking your life to get.

“Any water rescue puts the lives of not only of yourself but those of emergency services personnel at risk.

“While the rain may have eased today, rivers and flooded areas will take some time to subside so in the coming days we are still urging people to avoid those areas.”

Police are reminding the community that even though the worst of the rain has passed, river and creek catchments are soaked, so it may only take a small amount of rain for levels to rise again quickly.

Audio of Detective Inspector Simon Coady from ACT Policing Operations is available for newsrooms to download from this Hightail link.

Media enquiries

Police Media — (02) 5126 9070, act-police-media@afp.gov.au