ADF truck crash update: Authorities say injuries ‘non-life threatening’ after 32 ADF heroes involved in crash

Authorities have revealed new details about a horror incident involving 32 ADF heroes near Lismore, sharing an update on the conditions of six personnel.

Six Australian Defence Force personnel deployed to assist during storms and flooding caused by ex-tropical cyclone Alfred have been seriously injured when two military trucks rolled.

Thirteen personnel overall sustained injuries and were being treated in local hospitals, NSW Police said on Sunday.

One truck left the roadway and rolled several times into a paddock and another one tipped onto its side attempting to avoid the first vehicle at around 5pm on Saturday.

The troops came from the Second Combat Engineer Regiment and the Seventh Service Support Battalion, all being part of the Seventh Brigade based at Gallipoli Barracks in Brisbane.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said there were 32 soldiers on board the two trucks, and six had sustained serious injuries.

“Everyone at the scene did their best to look after their mates,” he told reporters on Sunday.

“For the extraordinary members of the Australian Defences Forces there are no easy days, every day could bring danger, every day carries risk and yet they step up and face them for us, the Australian people.”

“These men and women are heroes who were on their way to help people in need. They were doing this at a time when some of their own families were bearing the brunt of Alfred,” Mr Albanese said.

Defence Minister Richard Marles said the soldiers came from the 7th Brigade at the Gallipoli Barracks in Brisbane.

He also fended off questions about the army’s capabilities in natural disaster situations.

“As we look forward in this natural disaster, airlift capability and personnel fundamentally doing doorknocking, everyone stepping in and helping is something that in the here and now, we will be providing,” he said.

The prime minister also reiterated warnings of the dangers of the ongoing natural disaster referring to the death of a 61-year-old NSW man swept away by flood waters near Dorrigo in the state’s north.

More rainfall is expected to lash southeast Queensland and northern NSW.

Lismore residents, who experienced the devastating 2022 floods, are anxiously monitoring flood levee levels that are expected to hold steady as the system subsides in severity.

After an emergency call was made, NSW Police, NSW Police Rescue, NSW Ambulance Paramedics, NSW Fire and Rescue, SES and RFS crews were deployed, tirelessly working to free 32 ADF heroes trapped in the wrecking of the crash.

“All were taken to hospitals in Lismore, Tweed Heads, Ballina and Byron Bay for assessment, with 13 requiring treatment; police have been advised the injuries appear to be non-life threatening,” A NSW Police spokesperson said.

Officers attached to the Far North Coast Crash Investigation Unit are now investigating the circumstances surrounding the crash.