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BRISBANE - A four-year-old girl is missing after a water bladder atop a dam wall burst in central Queensland.
The girl was swept down the MacKenzie River when the bladder, holding at least 6,000 megalitres of water, ruptured at the Bedford Weir near Blackwater, about 200 km west of Rockhampton, about 4.30pm (AEST) on Sunday, police said.
The bladder permits more water to be stored.
Sergeant Noel Melrose of Rockhampton police said the girl, who lives in the Blackwater area, was swimming with a group near the weir when the bladder burst.
"Apparently there is a swimming hole below the weir wall for the public, which is quite popular on a hot day, and that's where we believe they were swimming," Sgt Melrose said.
No other information about the missing child has been released at this stage.
The spill from the weir was roughly equal to the amount of water held by 6,000 Olympic swimming pools, Sgt Melrose said.
Police, Queensland Fire and Rescue Authority crews, paramedics, and State Emergency Service volunteers, along with a helicopter, rushed to the scene.
Police will remain on the scene overnight and the search will resume at 5am on Monday.
Water levels on the MacKenzie River should be back to normal by 9am Monday, Sgt Melrose said.
Ian Churchill from Emergency Management Queensland told ABC radio there was no risk of major flooding.
"It's not going to be a considerable amount that's going to wipe out Blackwater or come into Rockhampton," he said.
Mr Churchill said there were no reports of flooded roads or bridges in the area.
Blackwater, a mining township with a population of 5,000, was earlier declared the state's 13th natural disaster area after being bruised and battered on Friday by a ferocious storm packing hailstones the size of melons.
- AAP
