Car rolls off ferry en route to Fraser Island

Some unlucky tourists in Australia could do nothing but watch as their four-wheel drive rolled off the back of a truck and floated away into the ocean.

The vehicle ferry was on its way to Fraser Island on New Year's Eve when the car began to roll away.

It is believed the vehicle's handbrake on but it was left in neutral, not park.

Nobody was inside the vehicle at the time.

The video, posted on Facebook by Chloe Swift, shows ferry passengers screaming as the car splashes into the water.

She said there were "quite a few phones, debit cards, passports and valuables all gone".

"There were a lot of girls obviously crying. Their phones and everything are in the car that sunk," Ms Swift told ABC Australia.

While it is easy to blame a forgetful driver, the back of the ferry was also not raised, a move which would have prevented the car going off the side.

Fraser Island lies just off the Queensland coast. It is renowned for its white sand beaches and four-wheel driving spots - just not for those tourists.

Newshub.