Shocking video has emerged of a four-wheel-drive rolling off a barge and into the waters between Fraser Island and the mainland on Saturday morning.
The video, posted on the Moreton Crime Watch Facebook page, shows the vehicle slowly rolling off the Manta Ray barge ramp, which was down at the time of the incident, before slipping into the water.
Amid the chatter heard on the video from the tourists aboard the vessel, a woman can be heard exclaiming: "All their stuff's in there as well".
It was believed no one was in the 4WD at the time.
Tourist Katrina Lawrence, who was aboard the barge, said the incident was "quite bizarre".
She said the boat was departing from Inskip Point at Rainbow Beach, about 150 kilometres north of the Sunshine Coast, on its way to the island and was about a quarter of the way across the Great Sandy Strait.
Ms Lawrence said the 4WD, which was part of an adventure tours group, began sliding off the barge about 11am, causing panic on the boat.
One man tried to stop the vehicle by grabbing onto it with his one free hand, but because he was wearing thongs he slid across the deck with the car.
"There was no way they could have grabbed it, it was a slow roll but a heavy car," Ms Lawrence said.
There was widespread panic onboard the vessel and concerned patrons rushed to check whether their vehicles were secure.
Only one vehicle was lost and about 30 seconds later Ms Lawrence said the 4WD sank.
She said a jet ski raced to where the vehicle had gone down and a few other boats converged, but nothing could be done.
Ms Lawrence said she didn't see any barge staff help during the incident, instead a "quite cranky" staff member told patrons to calm down.
A male voice can be heard on the video shouting at people to "f---ing chill out".
A spokeswoman for Manta Ray Fraser Island Barges confirmed the incident happened on one of their barges and an internal investigation had been launched.
Ms Lawrence said the barge turned around to Inskip Point and vehicles were transferred onto another barge.
She said she couldn't understand why the ramp was still down so far into the journey.
She told her daughter not to return to their vehicle, positioned next to the 4WD which slid off the barge, before the incident because she was concerned she might fall off the vessel.
Some found the funny side – Marty Leishman shared the video on Facebook with the caption: "Ferry to Fraser Island...check, Food and beer...check, Handbrake....oops".
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