A 46-year-old man has drowned in fast-flowing floodwaters in central west Queensland overnight.
Robert Bax was with his family and dogs at the Loyd Jones Weir in Barcaldine around 6:00pm yesterday when he slipped and fell.
Emergency services and SES from the nearby towns of Longreach and Blackall were called to the scene and a large-scale search operation was launched.
More than a dozen firefighters and SES volunteers worked through poor lighting to search for the man.
Family witnessed drowning
Sergeant Al McPhee from Barcaldine Police Station said it was unclear whether Mr Bax tried to walk through floodwaters.
"He's entered the river with his two dogs, he's lost his footing, he's gone under and he wasn't able to resurface," Sergeant McPhee said.
"We don't know if he was intending to walk from one side of the weir to the other."
Sergeant McPhee said family members witnessed the incident and were distraught.
"It's a terrible tragedy and the worst part about it is his family members were there when he disappeared in the water," he said.
"It's an all-around terrible thing for them."
Mr Bax's body was recovered 200 metres downstream several hours later.
Sergeant McPhee said the man's death has "hit the town very hard".
"It affects these communities in so many more ways, everyone feels it, particularly your emergency responders," he said
A spokesperson for Queensland Fire and Emergency Services (QFES) said it was a tragic accident.
"Very sombre when we found the person," QFES Acting Inspector Longreach Kim Llewelyn said.
