Drone phone, excavator and chainsaws used in rescue of family stranded during torrential downpour

A Far North Queensland man has flipped the tradition of scrawling SOS into the sand and instead launched a request for help from far overhead.

After becoming stranded on a dirt road between two rising creeks on Monday night, the man attached his mobile phone to a drone and flew it into the air to send an SOS via text message.

State Emergency Service area controller James Gegg said it was a unique call for help.

“He was clever enough to think that if he typed the message on his phone and pressed send that it would keep trying to send until it got reception,” Mr Gegg said.

“When he brought [the drone] back down he confirmed the message had been sent, so he did get reception … that raised the alarm and people were able to…