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4WD rolls off the back of barge headed for Fraser Island

One group of tourists' holiday plans were sunk when their 4WD rolled off the back of a barge en route to Queensland's Fraser Island.

It happened on Saturday morning as they made the journey from Inskip Point to the island.

The car slipped off the back of the car ferry into the sea.

And just like that. Source: 7 News
And just like that. Source: 7 News

It belonged to a local tour operator and it's understood the handbrake was on but the car was not in gear.

No one was in the vehicle at the time but a group of backpackers using the vehicle lost their phones, passports, bank cards and just about everything else of value they had with them.

Backpacker Chloe Swift told the ABC it was a "really sad and scary start" to her Fraser Island trip.

It rolled off. Source: 7 News
It rolled off. Source: 7 News
Into the sea. Source: 7 News
Into the sea. Source: 7 News

"There were a lot of girls obviously crying their phones and everything are in the car that sunk," she said.

"The people who have lost their stuff have to go back to the hostel and borrow stuff they have lost."

A spokesman for Manta Ray Fraser Island Barges told the ABC the incident was being investigated and no further comment would be made.