Hurricane Harvey: TV crew save lorry driver's life after spotting him trapped in cab in rising floodwater
A TV crew filmed the dramatic moment they helped save the life of a driver trapped in his lorry by rising floodwater.
A journalist for Houston news channel KHOU reporting on the devastation wrought by Hurricane Harvey flagged down police after spotting the man holed up in his cab.
At least two people have died after the storm deluged the Texas city with "unprecedented" rainfall, forcing thousands to clamber onto rooftops to escape rising waters and await rescue.
Reporter Brandi Smith and cameraman Mario Sandoval noticed the articulated lorry in at least 10ft of floodwater as they filmed from a bridge above.
The vehicle had stalled on a ramp leading down to a 16ft bridge that was nearly submerged in water.
"As we got closer you could see the lights were on, the windshield wipers were on. When we got even closer, you could see movement and that's when I realised there was someone in there and we had to figure out how to get him out because the water was not safe," Ms Smith said later.
The crew's footage showed the driver shouting for help from inside the cab, where his belongings could be seen floating in water.
Ms Smith called out to him: "Sir, are you OK? Can you get to the top of your vehicle? Can you get to the top of your truck? Do not climb into the water."
As the visibly concerned reporter tried to make contact with her TV station, which itself had been flooded, a Harris County Sheriff's Office truck approached towing a lifeboat.
The officers were on their way to another rescue but stopped after being flagged down by Ms Smith.
They were able to pull the driver, named only as Robert, to safety through the window of his cab onto the raft.
The driver, thought to have underestimated the depth of the water, told officers: "I just thank God that you guys were right here to get me and put me back on land safely."
The rescue took place at the same location that a lorry driver drowned after becoming trapped in his vehicle during floods in April last year, according to police.
About 3,000 National Guard and State Guard members were deployed in Houston this weekend to help rescue efforts as lakes and rivers were overwhelmed by downpours forecast to amount to 50 ins (1.27m.)
Thousands of people were evacuated to makeshift community shelters, many after being rescued from rooftops.
Rescuers in fishing boats and huge dump trucks battled driving rains to move people to shelter. Some people used inflatable toys to ferry their families out of deluged neighbourhoods or waded through chest-deep water on foot.
The National Weather Service warned the "catastrophic flooding" was expected to continue for days.
"The breadth and intensity of this rainfall are beyond anything experienced before," it added.
