A New Zealand woman and her three children were swept away in floodwaters in Australia, after the car they were travelling in veered off the road and slide into the Tweed River.
Stephanie King, 43, was driving her children – Ella Jane, Chloe May, and Jacob – when the accident happened in New South Wales on Monday afternoon.
Chloe May was able to escape the car, and ran to a nearby farm for help.
However, her mother, brother and sister remained trapped inside.
Three bodies were recovered from the car on Tuesday afternoon, but are yet to be formally identified.
“I have no doubt that woman is a hero and she’d be alive today if she wasn’t trying to save her children,” a police spokesman told Sky News.
Image: Facebook
Peter Taylor, who witnessed the aftermath, told 9News: “A little girl’s run down the road and she’s said her family’s gone into the river.
“Her feet were bleeding apparently. Then they called the ambulance and called the police.”
A number of people nearby jumped into the freezing water to try and rescue the family, but the car was completely submerged.
“The husband came down, and dad and two other boys just jumped into the water and couldn’t dive deep enough,” another witness, Sophie Grinham, told Seven.
Chloe May suffered cuts and bruises, but has since been released from hospital.
King lived in New South Wales, but attended Selwyn College in Auckland. Her mother, Heather May King, still lives in Maukau.
“I’ve lost two grandchildren as well, and my daughter,” she told Fairfax.
“All we know is that they have the car and there are three bodies inside, we don’t know it officially yet.”
A GoFundMe page for King’s partner, Matt Kabealo, has raised thousands of dollarsin a matter of hours.
So far, more than $15,000 has been raised for Kabealo and his daughter, Chloe May.
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