Twelve ADF members hospitalised after military vehicles roll in NSW during cyclone recovery efforts

ABC NEWS (Australia)

Twelve Australian Defence Force members remain in hospital after two military vehicles rolled in New South Wales. The soldiers had been assisting cyclone-affected communities in Lismore. Police are investigating the cause of the incident.

Transcript

00:00On a tough day for some of their military mates, men and women in uniform file into

00:08Lismore Base Hospital, where members of their team were taken after a major crash.

00:15In my 32 years of policing, it's the largest accident scene that I've been to.

00:2032 soldiers were travelling in two army trucks along a road in Tregeagle, outside Lismore,

00:26where both of the vehicles rolled.

00:28It was a very hectic scene when we arrived.

00:31We had patients of varying injuries up and down the roadway and certainly still had four

00:36persons trapped.

00:38All on board were taken to hospital and a mass emergency was declared.

00:44The troops from Queensland's 7th Brigade were in the northern rivers, helping communities

00:48clear up after ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred.

00:52This team of 32 had been engaged in route clearance work and were in transit from one

00:58task to another when the incident occurred.

01:02These men and women are heroes who are on their way to help people in need.

01:07They were doing this at a time when some of their own families were bearing the brunt

01:11of Alfred.

01:13The NSW Premier wants to make sure the support keeps coming.

01:16I don't want it to dampen the community's need, the state's need, the public's need

01:22for help every now and then.

01:24This afternoon a fresh round of help arrived in Lismore, as more soldiers from Queensland

01:29were given a tour by police, with conditions still treacherous in parts of the town.

01:37Visiting paramedics have also been playing a crucial role in northern NSW, plucking patients

01:43from flood zones with their world first fleet of ambulances designed to tackle rivers.

01:49The O'Hara vehicle is able to operate safely in a flood water depth of 1.2 metres and there

01:55have been multiple crossings at that depth through this deployment.

01:58The Prime Minister has praised the efforts of those involved in helping flood affected

02:02communities.

02:04Anthony Albanese and the Defence Minister Richard Miles today visited troops in Queensland.

02:09It's also expected they'll come here to northern NSW in the days ahead.

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