Western Australia family missing for three days found alive in flooded outback

The family of seven had set off on Sunday, planning to travel 400 miles (650km) from Kalgoorlie Boulder to Tjuntjuntjara, in Western Australia.

The alarm was raised when they failed to arrive in the Aboriginal community.

Fears for their safety increased after the area was hit with more than six months' worth of rain in 24 hours.

It was thought their two cars - carrying three elderly people and four children aged seven to 17 - may have become bogged down in mud, the Guardian reports. Family and friends said they could not contact the group and it was unclear what supplies they had with them.

"They are important parts of the community, they are elders and artists, and their family is very anxious to hear from them," John Lark, chief executive of the Paupiyala Tjarutja Aboriginal Corporation, told the Guardian before they were found.

Initial attempts at finding the family were hampered by the weather, which had inundated highways and closed the main railway to the eastern states. Western Australia Police suspended the search on Tuesday, with Goldfields-Esperance District Inspector Mick Kelly telling WA Today that the aerial search was abandoned after just an hour.

But the family were found within hours of the search being able to resume on Wednesday after being spotted from the air. A picture shows the group standing by one of the cars.

Western Australia Police said provisions were being provided to the family while they waited to be evacuated to the city of Kalgoorlie-Boulder.

Premier Roger Cooke said it was "a great outcome".

"I just want to thank all the police, first responders, search parties, everyone who participated in the efforts and the operations to locate that family," he told reporters on Thursday.

Members of their community have also expressed relief.

"I didn't think it would be quite so emotional because they're really bush savvy, we thought they'd be okay," Rhonda Thorncroft told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

"But we didn't know where they were, the road is incredibly treacherous at the moment.

"We were really worried about the little one, well all of them... we'll be very happy to see them home, that's for sure."

-bbc