An inquest into the deaths of two men during North Queensland's 2019 floods has found nothing could have been done to prevent the tragedy, which unfolded as they fled from police.
Coronial inquest finds it's not possible to know if a storm water grate could have saved the pair
Troy Mathieson, 23 and Hughie Morton, 21, had been running from police after robbing a liquor shop in Aitkenvale in the early hours of February 4 when they jumped into flood waters.The inquest examined the events leading to the deaths of the Palm Island men, the police response and if a grate on the storm water drain would have changed the outcome.He said the mens' swimming abilities, debris in the water and pull factor had also contributed to the tragedy.
The inquest heard police didn't log the Palm Island men's disappearance as a major incident as they initially thought they had successfully navigated across to the other side of the raging torrent. Civil engineer Grant Witheridge told the inquest the conditions faced that night were" hydraulically the worst possible" and while a grate on the storm water drain may have prevented their deaths, he wouldn't recommend installing one due to the flooding issues it would create in future.
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