FOUR people and two dogs who became trapped when their campsite near Moree flooded have been winched to safety by a rescue helicopter.
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The Land Rover LifeFlight Special Mission helicopter crew was tasked to the area, west of Pallamallawa, by the NSW State Emergency Service (SES).
The four people, a man and woman who were camping together, and two men who were unknown to each other, raised the alarm Tuesday morning, after floodwater rose significantly overnight.
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The chopper flew to the scene just before 11.30am on Tuesday.
LifeFlight's Critical Care Flight Paramedic was winched down to the scene, to assess the stranded campers.
The campers escaped serious injury and the rescue crew winched two people up to the chopper, separately - one with a dog - and flew them back to Moree airport.
The aircraft then returned to the flooded campsite to collect the other two people and second dog.
The Land Rover LifeFlight aircrew was able to use a 'child rescue capsule' to winch the dogs - a pomeranian and a chihuahua - up to the chopper.
LifeFlight's Critical Care Flight Paramedic Aaron Hartle said the group told him they had become acquainted at the campsite and were monitoring rainfall in the region over the past few days.
"They knew it was raining and knew it was flooding, but had discussed the situation and thought they'd be okay," he said.
"When they woke up this morning, the water was higher than knee-deep, so the group contacted the NSW SES, as there was no way out."
The Land Rover LifeFlight Special Mission helicopter is usually based in Brisbane, but was tasked to Moree by Fire and Rescue NSW, to aid emergency services in their response to the unfolding flood crisis.
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