A MOTHER and her young son and daughter are believed to have drowned after their car plunged into a flood swollen river in northern NSW this afternoon.

Police have located the submerged car near the northern bank of the Tweed River but are yet to recover the trio’s bodies. Fading light has delayed the recovery until tomorrow.

A NSW Police spokesperson said police drivers are travelling up from Sydney and a crime scene guard will remain at the scene overnight.

The alarm was raised when a 10-year-old girl managed to escape and was seen hysterically screaming to residents at a nearby property for help.

According to Seven News, witnesses said the young girl was screaming that her mother, brother and sister were all trapped in the car.

Fears a mother and two children have drowned in floodwaters just south of the Queensland border. @PeterFegan7 #7News https://t.co/ejOzeObQbf — 7 News Queensland (@7NewsQueensland) April 3, 2017

The vehicle plunged into the river after running off Dulguigan Road at Tumbulgum about 1.40pm.

NSW Police said sonar equipment had located the car submerged about five metres from the river bank about 3.25pm.

The bodies of the mother and her two children are believed to still be inside.

What caused the car to plunge into the river is not yet known.

Nearby residents frantically tried to rescue the occupants of the car but told reporters at the scene, they could see only bubbles rising to the surface.

Retired highway patrol officer Matt Grinham was passing by when he came across the scene.

He told the Gold Coast Bulletin that he dived into the water and followed the bubbles from the submerged car as it was washed downstream.

“We were going down feet first trying to work out where the car was,” Mr Grinham told the publication.

“Then we tried diving a couple of times but the water was so brown and cold … the flood run off is freezing down there.

“The car was completely submerged when we got there.”

Another witness, Peter Taylor said the girl’s feet were bleeding as she ran up the road desperately seeking help.

“This little girl has run down the road, and she has said her mum and dad or family have gone into the river,” he told Nine News.

“She is only a little thing and her feet were bleeding apparently, that’s what the fireys tell me, and they called an ambulance and called the police.”

The girl has been treated in hospital, where she remains, being cared for by family members.

Northern Region Assistant Commissioner Jeff Loy described the crash as a tragedy.

“This is a tragic event and we’re very concerned a tragic event will unfold over the evening,” he said.

“This is about heeding the warnings of the road closures, this has been a major event and the emergency services don’t take those closures lightly.”

Local road closures are in place near the crash site, as a large emergency services contingent remains on scene.

DEATH TOLL MOUNTS FOR FLOOD-HIT RESIDENTS

It’s the latest tragedy in what’s been a devastating few days for flood-hit residents of northern NSW towns.

Two women, 36 and 64, were carried off by floodwaters, while a 46-year-old man died in Murwillumbah from a heart attack when paramedics couldn’t reach him. A 45-year-old man was discovered dead at a South Murwillumbah caravan park, although his cause of death is yet to be confirmed.

A massive clean-up operation is underway as communities pick up the pieces of ruined homes and businesses.

Both NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian and Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull visited the region on Monday to get an update from the State Emergency Service and to let locals know they will be offered financial and moral support. Lismore, Murwillumbah and Tweed Heads residents have been given the all-clear to return home after floodwaters washed through the region over the past three days.

Ms Berejiklian has warned that while this was a “one-in-40-year event” such freak weather incidents were only going to increase.

The premier has also put insurance companies on notice to do right by their customers and process claims quickly.

“No-one is to drag their feet,” she said.

“They’ll be answerable to me.” The prime minister, who got on all fours and washed the floor in a Lismore restaurant, said enormous support was being offered to the town, including means-tested assistance for damaged homes and belongings to be administered through state governments.

Since Thursday, the SES has dealt with more than 2600 jobs and 480 flood rescues.

It is also reminding people to beware of receding floodwaters and drive carefully on damaged roads as they venture back home.

“Many of them are starting to realise that the extent of damage to their businesses and their homes are such that they are probably not likely to get back to any state of normality for weeks, if not months,” SES deputy acting commissioner Mark Morrow told media.

Residents have also been warned to watch out for wildlife that could have taken shelter in homes.

“We had people finding snakes, spiders and rats,” SES spokesman Phil Campbell said.

— With AAP</s>A mother and her two children are feared dead after their car plunged into a flooded river.

A third child - a 10-year-old girl - managed to escape the sinking car and swim to safety before alerting passers-by.

They launched a desperate effort to rescue her mother and siblings who were trapped in the vehicle.

However they were unable to free them as it sank to the bottom of the Tweed River near Tumbulgum, Australia.

The tragic incident occurred after torrential rain from Cyclone Debbie left rivers swollen and several areas flooded.

It is believed the car went into the river after it was involved in a minor collision on Dulguigan Road - which was slippery and covered in mud - on Monday afternoon.

Police launched a recovery operation after the submerged car was discovered by sonar equipment about 16ft from the riverbank.

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We're also on Facebook/dailymirror - your must-see news, features, videos and pictures throughout the day from the Daily Mirror, Sunday Mirror and Mirror Online.</s>A nine-year-old girl escaped from a car just moments before it was submerged in floodwaters in Australia, screaming that her family was still inside and had “gone into the river”.

In an unfolding tragedy that follows a devastating cyclone and flooding across eastern Australia, police divers have launched an operation to try to recover the bodies of the girl’s mother and older brother and younger sister. They are believed to be trapped in a car in the Tweed River, near the town of Tumbulgum in the state of New South Wales.

The car apparently veered off a muddy road and crashed into the river at 1.40pm, local time.

Thomas Grinham, a bystander, said he arrived on the scene soon after the car became submerged and saw “a little girl running along the road”.</s>The girl was reported missing from the home where she lives with her foster family.

Police initially said they were searching for the girl's mother in connection with the disappearance. But when the girl was found Monday afternoon, police did not say whether her mother was involved.</s>UPDATE: A WOULD-BE rescuer has described how he desperately tried to save three people trapped in a sinking car at Tumbulgum today.

Emergency services are now facing the grim task of recovering three bodies after they found the submerged car about two hours after it plunged into the flood-swollen Tweed River.

A 10-year-old girl escaped from the car but her family - believed to be her mum, dad and sibling - were trapped inside after it crashed off Dulguigan Road at Tumbulgum at 1.40pm.

Police are now recovering the bodies after the car was found by sonar equipment about 5m from the northern river bank about 3.25pm.

Retired highway patrol officer Matt Grinham discovered the crash when he was driving to clean up flood damage at a family member's house.

He immediately dived into the freezing river with three other men and followed the bubbles coming out of the water as the submerged car floated downstream.

"We were going down feet first trying to work out where the car was," Mr Grinham told the Gold Coast Bulletin.

"Then we tried diving a couple of times but the water was so brown and cold ... the flood run off is freezing down there.

"The car was completely submerged when we got there."

The men could not reach the car.

Another witness Peter Taylor said a girl ran up the road and said her family had gone into the river.

"This little girl has run down the road, and she has said her mum and dad or family have gone into the river," he told Nine News.

"She is only a little thing and her feet were bleeding apparently, that's what the firies tell me, and they called an ambulance and called the police."

Scores of emergency services, including the rescue helicopter, raced to help with the operation.

The rescued child was taken to Tweed Heads District Hospital with cuts and lacerations to her lower legs as well as neck pain.

She is being cared for by family members.

Assistant Commissioner Northern Region Commander Jeff Loy said the car crashed off the road and plunged into the river.

"This is a tragic event and we're very concerned a tragic event will unfold over the evening.

"This is about heeding the warnings of the road closures, this has been a major event and the emergency services don't take those closures lightly."

The river was strewn with debris from the floods.

EARLIER: RESCUERS are frantically trying to find three people feared trapped in a submerged car that plunged into the flood-swollen Tweed River this afternoon.

A 10-year-old was pulled from the car after it came off Dulguigan Road at Tumbulgum, landing in the Tweed River about 1.40pm today.

There are fears three other people - including the child's mother and sibling - are still trapped inside the car.

Scores of emergency services have raced to the location and are searching for them.

The river was strewn with debris from the floods.

Chief Inspector Mick Dempsey said he couldn't confirm the circumstances of how the vehicle ended up in the Tweed River but did confirm the New South Wales Police diving unit was on its way to retrieve two females and a male from the water.

"About 1.40pm this afternoon a vehicle has travelled along Dulguigan Rd at Tumbulgum, it has gone into the Tweed River, one person has escaped from the vehicle and we're currently searing for three occupants of that vehicle," he said.

"With the assistance of SES as well as VRA to search the river, a private person bought a sonar device which we used to search and we have located an object believed to be the vehicle about five metres out from the north bank."

Chief Inspector Dempsey said he believed those in the vehicle were locals but could not confirm their ages.

Dulguigan Rd has been closed due to flood damage since Friday but police are urging people to stay away from the area for their own safety.

A NSW Ambulance spokesman said the rescued child had been taken to the Tweed Hospital.

"We have treated and stransported one female patient approximately 10 years old for cuts and lacerations to lower legs and neck pain," he said.

"The patient is being transporterd to the Tweed Hospital."

No further details are available. Diversions are in place.
A mother and two children drown after their car plunges into the flooded Tweed River, raising the death toll to eight people. A ten-year-old girl escapes and alerts authorities.