A man has died trying to help friends in floodwaters near Broken Hill overnight in outback New South Wales.
Just after 10:30pm emergency services were called to Menindee Road, 35 kilometres east of the city.
SES personnel and Barrier Police District officers located the body of a Queensland man, who had been staying in area for a short period of time.
Despite their best efforts, he was unable to be revived.
It is believed the 56-year-old, along with a male passenger, drove into the floodwater before exiting the Toyota LandCruiser ute.
According to Barrier Police Superintendent Darren Brand the man then became stuck in a concrete pipe.
"The force of the [water] was so strong that it pushed their vehicle off the road surface," he said.
An investigation has been launched into the circumstances surrounding the incident, but it is believed the man was attempting to help friends who had also become stuck at the time.
"What a tragic outcome," Superintendent Brand said.
"Some people made a decision to leave Menindee and head towards Broken Hill on the Menindee Road, [and] unfortunately came across some floodwaters and became stuck.
"Unfortunately [that] lead to another set of circumstances where some people known to them came from Menindee to check on their welfare because they'd become stuck.
Menindee Road was closed at 5:29pm yesterday.
It remains closed.
Broken Hill recorded more than 140 millimetres of rain yesterday, the most since records began.
