A driver has been pulled to safety three hours after his truck and trailer unit plunged off a West Coast bridge.
The man suffered multiple fractures in the accident, which happened around 3am at the Fern Arch Half Bridge on the Buller Gorge Rd, State Highway 6, 15km from Westport.
Fire and Rescue services had to lower gear down to the man, who was trapped in the cab.
He was pulled to safety shortly before 6am and the Westpac Rescue helicopter was on its way to take him to Christchurch Hospital.
The total length of the Buller Gorge Rd, between Inanghua Junction and at the intersection of State Highway 6 and 67, was closed while emergency services carried out the rescue operation.
Meanwhile, near Huntly in the North Island, another truck and trailer unit carrying food and beverages hit a bank on State Highway 1 and left debris strewn all over the road.
The road, near the intersection with Jackson St, was to be closed for approximately two hours from 7am while the truck and debris were removed.
Southbound traffic was being diverted onto Tainui Bridge Rd, while northbound traffic via Orini Rd or Hakarimata Rd.
- NZPA
Driver freed after truck plunges off bridge
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