KEY POINTS:
The police dive team is expected to join search and rescue teams scouring the Buller River for the body of a man believed to have drowned yesterday.
A Sunday newspaper has named the man as Leith McConochie, 25, one of the country's top young motocross riders.
Mr McConochie and his girlfriend were driving on State Highway 6 near Murchison when the car left the road and plunged down a 30m bluff about 3.50am.
The woman managed to make it to safety and alert emergency services.
Mr McConochie, who was driving, managed to free himself from the submerged car but was carried down-river by fast-flowing currents and disappeared.
A search yesterday, involving land search and rescue teams from Murchison, Reefton and Westport, failed to find Mr McConochie.
A helicopter was also used to fly the search area but without success.
Senior Constable Paul Hart said it was miraculous she had escaped.
If the woman had not managed to clamber up the bluff and flag down a motorist the accident could have gone unnoticed for days.
She was taken to Nelson hospital suffering from suspected hypothermia but released later.
The police dive team is expected to arrive this afternoon to try to retrieve the car from water up to 5m deep so investigators can determine what caused it to leave the road.
Sniffer dogs may be also be used to search the riverbanks for Mr McConochie's body.
- NZPA
