Beach party chaos as revellers flee croc-infested waters

Hundreds of revellers who let loose in coronavirus-free Darwin had to flee when the tide engulfed their sandbar party location.

Around 600 partygoers fled on boats and jet skis in chaotic scenes in crocodile-infested waters over the weekend.

Northern Territory Police said they were "disappointed" about the incident, of which footage has emerged showing drunk people piling onto boats which then capsized under their weight.

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NT Water Police were called to help in the chaos at Cullen Bay, which saw boats collide and one man taken to hospital after a fight.

Andrew Hocking from NT Water Police said he was "horrified".

"Overloaded boats, no safety gear, they had boats capsizing people in the water," he said.

"Transporting people back to shore, we had our members towing boats lifting people out of the water to safety."

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Police seized 300 litres of alcohol.

Watch Commander Xavier McMahon said: "The NT Water Police section are continuing to investigate a number of identified marine offences.

"People don't realise how quickly a situation can change with the NT tides, and it was disappointing to see such a large crowd be so irresponsible and put so many people at risk".

Before the chaos, Northern Territory Chief Minister Michael Gunner posted a video of the event on Facebook.

"You can't do this in Bondi, but you can do this in Darwin," he boasted.

"This is the reward for COVID Zero and hard borders - freedom and fun."