Reporter jumps into the water during the broadcast - and saves a driver

It's seconds that decided between life and death: Will Murray, a reporter for the Australian broadcaster ABC, was reporting on flooding in Morayfield, north of Brisbane, on Thursday when he discovered a man in an SUV stuck in the floodwaters.

The vehicle drifted and began to sink. Murray alerted the emergency services. But when the driver suddenly disappeared from his field of vision, the journalist decided to intervene himself.

"At first I could see him, but within seconds he disappeared from my sight. That's when I decided to jump into the water," Murray recalled to ABC.

“With a bit of luck the door opened”

Together with passerby Daniel Hainey, Murray tried to free the driver from the car. At first they failed to open a door. Finally, Murray braced his feet against the car and pulled with all his might on the rear passenger door. “With a bit of luck the door opened,” he tells ABC.

The two men were able to pull the driver out of the car before the car was completely submerged. Murray's camerawoman captured the rescue on her camera. There had been severe flooding in the region. In some cases 170 liters of rain fell per square meter.

Murray only realized how dangerous the operation was afterwards. Speaking to the Reuters news agency, he described the situation as frightening. “It’s terrible to see someone in such distress,” he said.

The sigh of relief after the successful rescue was even greater. "It was one of the best moments of my life - just the relief of seeing him safe and well. That alone was enough for me," Murray told Reuters.