The three travellers were found on the roof of the vehicle - which is painted to look like the famous Mystery Machine - at the scene near Cairns, Queensland
A TRIO of Eton schoolboys had to be saved from rising floodwaters in Australia after their Scooby Doo campervan was submerged in a flood-hit region infested with crocodiles.
Emergency services in Queensland launched a rescue mission after Ed Talbot, 19, and 18-year-olds Tom White and Tom Vare were spotted perched on the roof of the vehicle.
The gap-year chums, who plan to go to university together in September, pitched up after several groups had left the campsite after being warned by a local of the risk from rapidly rising floodwaters - and parked just metres from a sign warning of the presence of the deadly animals.
The state's waterways are home to saltwater crocodiles, the largest species of the fearsome reptiles that are known to occasionally prey on humans, including one four-and-a-half metre croc.
Mr Talbot, from Hampshire, described how they panicked when they were woken up by the rising water.
He told the : "We were in a bit of shock and panic.
"We started bailing out water and then decided to stay in the van as there was a sign right next to the van that said 'caution, danger of crocodiles'."
Mr White, from Somerset, suggested they swim for dry land, but was “outvoted”, while Mr Vare, from Berkshire, said: "When we woke at 5am we were surrounded."
Queensland Fire and Emergency Services officer Guy Bulmer said: "During the night and the course of the evening they noticed water entering the campervan and there was a croc sign quite close by.
"The signs are not there for general information. It's quite specific, there are crocodiles there."
He added: "They went to the roof of the van and it's not until they were seen this morning that someone saw them there - they had no shirts on either."
Rescue teams, along with paramedics and police went to the scene, arriving shortly after the alarm was raised at about 6am local time.
They found the campervan half-submerged, with about 100m of water between the vehicle and rescuers, who deployed an inflatable dingy.
"We had people on watch assisted by the police in case any crocs did turn up," Mr Bulmer said.
"They look like logs so they are hard to spot, but they are quite shy and we were making a lot of noise.
"I wouldn't have been surprised if they were around though.
"You've also got debris in the water, it's extremely dirty, so there is plenty of potential for injury and death."
Mr Bulmer said there were also crocodile farms in the area, the closest about three miles from the scene, while a 13ft beast had recently been spotted about 7.5 miles away.
With floodwaters rising "quite a number of inches" during the operation on Tuesday, the rescuers were quick to take the men back to safety, with all three recovered in about 45 minutes.
"After we got them back to dry land they were certainly grateful," the officer said.
"They had a cold and wet night. They got warmed up and it was happy days because no one got hurt.
"It can happen to anyone, and tourists don't have the local knowledge."
Mr Bulmer said the men "did the right thing" by staying put, rather than attempting to swim to safety.
"The worst case scenario would have been if they thought 'let's give it a go and swim' which would have been a potential life or death situation.
"You don't know what's in the water. Crocs, logs, debris."
The men are understood to have been reunited with their possessions and flown out of Cairns on Tuesday on a scheduled flight.
In November a British woman suffered cuts when she was bitten on the leg by a saltwater crocodile in Cape Tribulation, Queensland.
The previous month a crocodile was suspected of killing a dementia patient who wandered away from a nursing home in Port Douglas in the north of the state.
Human remains were found, along with the 79-year-old's clothes and walking stick, near a creek bank.
In November it was reported that two terrified fishermen spent four days living on the roof of their car as crocodiles circled below after becoming stranded in Australia's outback.
The men and their dog had been on a fishing trip when their four-by-four became stuck in a tidal bog in Oz's remote Kimberley region.
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