Clive Palmer's Helicopter Saves 60 From Floods

Queensland mining giant Clive Palmer was forced to use his private helicopter to pluck up to 60 people from treacherous floodwaters in and around his standardbred horse stud in south-east Queensland.

Mr Palmer, one of Australia's richest men, said four staff members sheltering on the roof of the Cold Mountain Stud in Moore came perilously close to death on Tuesday as the state's worst flood in decades bore down on the property.

For 13 hours the staff sat stranded on the roof, watching as drowning horses thrashed in the waters below them. 

"We flew in the company chopper and saved them but one staff member, 22-year-old Murray Sullivan, who drives a lot of our horses to and from venues, was absolutely devastated," Mr Palmer told harness racing website harnesslink.com.

"Thank goodness we have lost no one."

Mr Sullivan said Mr Palmer's helicopter had saved about 60 people in the area after emergency services said they had more urgent cases to deal with.

"I will never, ever forget what Clive did for me. I owe my life to him," he told the website.

"I will definitely be returning to work for him but for now I can't face what is there. The water has subsided but the thought of cleaning up the carcasses of horses I loved so much would be too much for me to take right now."

Mr Palmer said 80 horses had drowned at the facility due to the flooding, of which 17 were racehorses including Cam's Card Shark, Genuwine, Eden Burst, and Fancy Card Shark.

Fifteen yearlings trapped in one barn also died.

"This is all very sad and distressing but the welfare of our people must come first. They have been traumatised and it's vital that they are rehabilitated. There will be a cremation and burial for the horses," Mr Palmer said.

Source: www.smh.com.au