BODIES OF MOTHER AND TWO CHILDREN RETRIEVED FROM FLOODED TWEED RIVER

The bodies of a mother and her two children have been retrieved from a car that plunged into the swollen Tweed River in northern New South Wales.

Bilambil mother Stephanie King, aged 43, her daughter Ella-Jane Kabealo, aged 11, and her son Jacob Kabealo, aged seven, became trapped in their car when it left Dulguigan Road in Tumbulgum about 1.40pm yesterday.

Ms King’s youngest daughter Chloe, aged eight, managed to escape the sinking car and raise the alarm at a nearby property.

Chloe was taken to Tweed Hospital with cuts and abrasions but has since been discharged. She is in the care of family members.

SES and local residents used boats and sonar equipment to locate the sunken vehicle about five metres from the river bank about 3.25pm, Tweed Byron LAC Chief Inspector Mick Dempsey said.

“(Chloe) is obviously traumatised by the incident,” Insp. Dempsey told ABC radio today.

Police divers from Sydney arrived at the tiny flood-hit town on the New South Wales-Queensland border today to retrieve the bodies.

The car is expected to be pulled from the river this afternoon.

Witnesses said Chloe bravely sought help after the crash.

“The little girl ran down the road and she said her mum and her family… had gone into the river,” witness Peter Taylor told 9NEWS yesterday.

“She is only a little thing and her feet were bleeding apparently, that’s what the fireys tell me, and they called an ambulance and called the police.”

Retired highway patrol officer Matt Grinham was passing by at the time and told the Gold Coast Bulletin he dived in to follow the bubbles that were appearing on the river’s surface.

“Then we tried diving a couple of times but the water was so brown and cold … the flood run-off is freezing down there,” he said.

Mr Grinham’s son Thomas told 9NEWS they managed to locate the car yesterday.

“We went out with a boat last night with a depth sounder, the car looks like a minivan,” he said.

“The roof is about five metres below the water level. We’ve marked where it is.”

Police insist Dulguigan Road was closed at the time of the accident, despite locals insisting that the debris-strewn roadway appeared to be open.

Road closures will remain in place this morning for two kilometres south from the intersection of Dulguigan and MacCauleys roads. Rapid Impact Assessments need to be undertaken by the SES before the evacuation orders and road closures can be lifted.

It is the latest tragedy in what has been a devastating few days for flood-hit northern NSW residents.

Two women, aged 36 and 64, were killed by floodwaters, while a 46-year-old man died in Murwillumbah from a heart attack when paramedics could not reach him.

The body of a 77-year-old Eagleby man was found after his car was swept away in floodwaters on Saturday.

A 45-year-old man was also discovered dead at a South Murwillumbah caravan park, although his cause of death is yet to be confirmed.

A massive clean-up operation is under way as communities pick up the pieces of ruined homes and businesses.

Lismore, Murwillumbah and Tweed Heads residents have been given the all-clear to return home after floodwaters washed through the region over the past three days.