A prominent Queensland rheumatologist has been identified as one of the 13 people who have died during last week’s tragic east-coast floods.
Dr Alexander Klestov was on his way home after treating patients in Rockhampton when he became trapped in floodwaters.
It is believed the 76-year-old’s car was washed away on the Brisbane Valley Highway, around 60km northwest from Brisbane on February 27.
The father-of-three’s body was found in a nearby gully two days after a massive “rain bomb” exploded over Queensland’s southeast.
His son Peter told the ABC that Dr Klestov planned to retire more than a decade ago but was concerned about the shortage of rheumatologists in Queensland.
“He felt a duty, I guess, to just keep going. That was his dedication,” Peter said.
Tributes have poured in on social media, labelling the tragedy as a “great loss”.
“Rest in peace Dr Alexander Klestov the world will be a little less bright and certainly the Rockhampton community will feel your loss.” one woman on Facebook said.
“Such a great man ….so sad.” another user said.
Dr Klestov was “extremely respected” in both the medical and Russian community.
A Queensland Russian Community Centre spokesperson described their former president as a humble, compassionate and funny man with a great xjmtzywlove for Russian poetry and history.
“Words cannot express how much we appreciated his input and support at the centre,” they said.
Dr Klestov’s daughter told the ABC that the family had received hundreds of messages since his death.
“There are all these stories coming out about ‘Your father helped me early on in my medical career’ or ‘Your father was the only one that stood up for me and saved my career’, or ‘Your father helped me with some money issues’,” she said.
“He never really told us any of this stuff – It’s very humbling. I guess he just got on with it and kept a lot of his goodness to himself,”
