Qld: Mining town reels from weir death
24 Nov 2008 2:20 PMA central Queensland mining town .. devastated by a massive hail storm last week .. is now struggling to come to terms with a second tragedy.
A four year old girl was swept away while swimming at a popular weir with her family yesterday when an inflatable rubber bag .. used to raise the water level .. ruptured sending six thousand megalitres of water surging down the MacKenzie River.
Her body was recovered about 6.20 this morning (AEST).
Another six people .. including the girl's mother .. had to be rescued.
Sunwater .. which operates the weir .. says the 1.2-metre tall bladder was physically checked only last week .. and is constantly monitored by computers.
Professor COLIN APELT from the University of Queensland has told ABC radio the problem was probably caused by a failure in the dam's control system.
AAP RTV pjocrh
