Gold Coast-Sydney plane photo of dirty brown floodwater meeting clear blue ocean stuns passengers

A mesmerising photo showing floodwaters meeting the ocean has been captured by a plane passenger flying over Australia’s rain-battered coastline.

The photo taken over Flagstaff Beach on the Gold Coast on Wednesday showed a clear separation between the blue ocean water and the dirty brown floodwater spilling out of the Tweed River.

The swollen river had peaked on Tuesday at a height of 1.5m as parts of south-east Queensland received as much as 550mm of rain in the space of two days.

Sydney resident Sam Hennigan was flying over the Queensland border with New South Wales when he snapped the unique phenomenon.

A unique natural phenomenon whereby floodwaters and ocean water clash as they meet off the coast has been captured by a plane passenger

‘It was pretty mesmerising,’ he told nine.com.au.

The separation occurs when floodwaters meet the ocean because of the difference in density between fresh and salt water.

The salt-heavy sea water falls below the outflowing river water and starts moving upstream. 

A similar photo of flood waters clashing with ocean water was taken this week at Moruya on the NSW South Coast which has also seen heavy flooding.

Mr Hennigan’s eye-catching image emerged as Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk warned Queenslanders the danger from flooding is not over as water will continue to make its way through flooded areas for several days. 

Swift water rescue crews found the body of David Hornman in his ute in the flooded Canungra Creek in the Gold Coast hinterland on Wednesday.

A similar photo of flood waters clashing with ocean water was taken this week at Moruya on the NSW South Coast

A desperate search for David Hornman, 38, ended when his body was found inside his ute in the Gold Coast Hinterland on Wednesday afternoon 

The 38-year-old father was last seen on Monday morning.

Police say the Canungra area copped atrocious weather on Monday.

Pakistani national Ayaz Younas was on his first day of a new contracting job when his Toyota Camry became trapped in floodwaters

Forecasters say almost half a metre of rain has fallen in the inland region since Sunday.

Another man was found dead inside a vehicle in Sydney’s north-west.

Pakistani national Ayaz Younas was on his first day of a new contracting job when his Toyota Camry became trapped in the flood on Cattai Ridge Road in Glenorie on Sydney’s northern outskirts.

The inside of the 25-year-old’s car was badly damaged, indicating to police that he frantically battled to save his life and escape as waters rose around him. 

NSW Police Detective Inspector Chris Laird said Mr Younas called Triple-Zero at 6.25am on Wednesday and remained on the line with the operator until about 7am.

‘Had he not rung us, we never would have found him. Not until the water receded anyway,’ Det Insp Laird said.

‘But we can only speculate that given what I have seen and the damage to the vehicle that it could very well be that the electrics totally failed, and he was simply unable to escape from the car which is an absolute tragedy.

Mr Younas’ Toyota Camry became trapped in the flood on Cattai Ridge Road in Glenorie on Sydney’s northern outskirts

Emergency crews were called to Cattai Ridge Road, near Hidden Valley Lane in Glenorie at about 6.30am on Wednesday, following reports a car was submerged in floodwaters

‘You can only just imagine somebody fighting for their life to get out of the car — that’s what the inside damage of the vehicle looked like.’

Det Insp Laird said Mr Younas ‘clearly couldn’t get out’ of the car as there were no broken windows.

He said the roads had multiple signs and closure warnings, yet the car was located 30m into floodwaters and 6m under water.