00:02Emergency services were called to a creek at Boomba west of Mariborough yesterday where they
00:07found the body of a 57 year old man unresponsive in the water. Fraser Coast Council has since
00:12identified that man as being local dairy farmer and former councillor James Hansen. In a statement
00:19Mayor George Seymour praised Mr Hansen for being one of the region's last dairy farmers. He described
00:26Mr Hansen as being a passionate advocate for primary producers and said the loss of Mr Hansen
00:32was sudden and tragic. Now Mr Hansen served as a councillor on the Fraser Coast Council for three
00:38terms from 2012 to 2024 and he was a fourth generation resident of the region. Police say
00:45they're still investigating the circumstances surrounding his death and they're preparing a
00:49report for the coroner. The investigations are continuing so it would appear there was about
00:542.5 metres of flood water in that area at the time that the gentleman was travelling and the
01:00vehicle is damaged in you know in accordance with striking water at speed but police will
01:08continue to investigate that and prepare a report for the coroner. Mr Hansen's death comes after a
01:14week of heavy rain across southern and southeast Queensland. There have been several swiftwater
01:19rescues across the state since Thursday. This includes six campers rescued at Lieburn and two
01:25stranded drivers rescued on the southern downs. Now the weather bureau says that severe thunderstorm
01:31risks will be moving north today beyond Gatton and west of Gympie. There are still several major
01:37flood warnings in place so people are being urged to keep a close eye on those but certainly a tragic
01:43development on the Fraser coast.
