Australian police located two bodies inside a car in the Gympie region of Queensland on Thursday as part of the search for two Chinese backpackers who had been reported missing, national broadcaster ABC reported, citing police.
Authorities believe the recovered remains are those of the missing tourists. Police divers and emergency personnel were due to attend the scene to formally confirm identities, ABC News said.
The missing travellers were identified by police in a statement as a 26-year-old man and a 23-year-old woman. The pair had been travelling to North Burnett in Queensland, a rural area roughly 380 km (236 miles) northwest of Brisbane, according to the police statement.
Glen Hartwig, the mayor of Gympie, described the discovery as an "absolute tragedy" and said the visitors had come to Australia to experience the country’s landscapes but had sadly lost their lives, he told ABC News.
The recoveries come as major flood warnings remain in force in parts of Queensland and the Northern Territory. Authorities say persistent heavy rains have caused rivers to overflow, isolating some rural communities and prompting the evacuation of hundreds of residents.
Television footage on Wednesday showed a helicopter retrieving two people from a vehicle trapped in waters inhabited by crocodiles at a creek crossing near Katherine in the Northern Territory. Authorities have repeatedly urged residents to avoid driving through floodwaters, noting that several crocodiles have been seen in suburbs inundated around Katherine.
Emergency services continue to operate in affected areas, with local and state responders addressing rescue and recovery tasks while flood warnings remain active. The situation has left some towns separated by swollen rivers and ongoing rainfall, and officials are working to confirm details related to the incident in the Gympie region.
Reporting note: Police and emergency services are expected to carry out procedures to confirm the identities of the recovered bodies; further official details were not reported in the available accounts.