Australia Police Recover Two Bodies in Search for Missing Chinese Tourists

Channel News Asia ^ | 12 Mar 2026

[nickcarraway]

The bodies were found inside a car in Queensland’s flood-hit Gympie region.

Australian police have recovered two bodies during a search for two Chinese backpackers who went missing in a flood-hit region in the country's east, local media reported on Thursday (Mar 12).

The bodies, believed to be those of the missing Chinese tourists, were found inside a car, national broadcaster Australian Broadcasting Corp reported, citing police.

Police divers and emergency personnel were expected to be at the scene in the Gympie region of Queensland state on Thursday to confirm the identities of the bodies, ABC News said.

[BlackVeil]

Very sad. People often think that they can drive through flooded roads, but the water rises quickly.

[ConservativeMind]

I’m glad for them that they didn’t wind up as chicken in a Chinese restaurant.

[verum ago]

Very sad. People often think that they can drive through flooded roads, but the water rises quickly.

Quickly rising water is rarely the issue. The issue is that people

1) Understimate how little water it takes to float a car

and, perhaps more importantly:

2) Underestimate how little water it takes to partially float a car enough that the friction from its tires is no longer sufficient to stop the current from dragging it sideways and downstream. There's a zillion horrifying videos of vehicles being swept away that aren't actually afloat. There's just enough buoyancy provided by the water that the grip of the tires diminishes to the point where the current overcomes their grip and the vehicle simply skids sidewways downstream...