ROCKHAMPTON, Australia, Jan. 1 (UPI) -- A man is missing in a flooded river in Queensland, Australia, authorities said Saturday.
The Australian Broadcasting Corp. said waterborne police, lifeguards, marine rescue and two helicopter crews were searching the mouth of the Boyne River near Gladstone.
Two men were fishing in a small boat when it was swamped by rising water Saturday afternoon. A 38-year-old man waited on a sandbar while his friend went ashore to bail out the boat, but he was gone when his friend returned.
Evacuations by boat expanded Saturday around Rockhampton as more suburbs were inundated. About 1,000 properties already are flooded by the Fitzroy River, which is expected to keep rising until Wednesday, the report said. The airport and the Bruce Highway south of the city have been closed.
The military has set up a joint task force at Brisbane's Enoggera Barracks to coordinate recovery efforts across Queensland. It will control the helicopters and troops already working with emergency crews, including the three Black Hawk helicopters operating around Emerald.
Queensland Emergency Services Minister Neil Roberts said people are still ignoring repeated warnings to stay off flooded roads.
