Cahill's Crossing keeps claiming cars

NOT AGAIN: Kakadu National Park Rangers use their flood boat to assist during this January 14 rescue operation at Cahill's Crossing, as police keep an eye out for crocodiles. PHOTOS: SUPPLIED - NT POLICE

Drivers who become stuck while attempting to cross the swollen East Alligator River are placing their own and others’ lives at risk, say Northern Territory Police.

Authorities are fed up with hauling cars and people out of the notorious Cahill’s Crossing, with abandoned vehicles left blocking an essential supply route into remote West Arnhem communities.

Two cars in as many days were left stuck on the rocks at the crossing of the crocodile-infested river, which has been running at depths up to three metres following seasonal rainfall.

NT Police and Kakadu Rangers were called out around 5.30am Thursday 14 January to help a group after their Toyota Landcruiser was washed off the crossing. Five adults and two children became stranded in the swirling East Alligator waters in the early hours after the force of the water pushed their vehicle onto rocks. According to police, people in the group were suffering exposure.

"Trucks carrying much-needed supplies to our communities could not get through"

The next day, a Great Wall vehicle without four-wheel drive capabilities was found washed off the crossing. NT Police said they established four people from the vehicle were picked up by a passing motorist and returned to Gunbalanya. On police advice, Cahill’s Crossing was closed after the incident.

West Arnhem Regional Council staff in Gunbalanya joined with NT Police and staff from Gunbalanya Meat Works to remove one of the vehicles. WARC Regional Manager Service Delivery Gordon Smith said meatworks staff waded into the river to attach a cable to the vehicle before the council loader could drag it out.

Recovering vehicles from the crossing was not a service of council, he said.

“We were forced to take this action because trucks carrying much-needed supplies to our communities could not get through,” Mr Smith said. “There was a freight truck stuck on one side of the river because of this incident. The whole exercise cost the council around $500 in lost income, for the use of the loader, staff time, and fuel.”

The waters around Cahill’s Crossing are a well-known habitat for saltwater crocodiles. NT Police have again urged drivers not to risk their own lives or the lives of their passengers by attempting to cross flooded roadways.

The crossing was re-opened on Wednesday 20 January with water levels at 0.4m.

GREAT WALL: Another vehicle stuck on the river crossing on 15 January.