Heavy rain and dense rainforest have hampered efforts to recover the body of a man believed to have fallen from a kayak into fast rapids, along a river in Far North Queensland on Boxing Day.
Emergency services were called to the South Johnstone River at Gulngai, about 135 kilometres south of Cairns, just before 7:00pm Monday after the 45-year-old man failed to resurface from the water.
Another person with the man made it safely to shore and raised the alarm, a Queensland Ambulance Service spokesperson said.
A search and rescue operation involving police, swiftwater rescue, a helicopter and State Emergency Service members began immediately.
Police said the man's body was found on Tuesday afternoon after an "extensive" search.
"Due to the dangerous nature of the water, the dense rainforest location and inclement weather conditions, the man could not be immediately removed from the site," a police statement said.
"Police and emergency services have returned this morning and have resumed their attempts to remove his body from the remote location."
Queensland Fire and Emergency Services said crews traversed thick terrain on Wednesday to retrieve the man's body.
Queensland Ambulance Service said the second person, who safely reached the riverbank, was unharmed and did not require treatment.
Anyone with information about the incident was urged to contact police.
