Emergency services rescue a man trapped overnight in his car near Jerusalem near the Whanganui River. Photo / Philips Search & Rescue Trust
An injured man who spent the night trapped in a vehicle after it crashed down a bank has been rescued.
The man, who is in his 50s, was this morning discovered trapped in the vehicle in the Whanganui River Valley.
He was found by family members who were searching for him.
Palmerston North Rescue Helicopter base manager and pilot Chris Moody said the man had been trapped throughout the night.
"I'm unsure where he was going from or to when it happened but it sounds like he had been [there] since about 10pm the previous evening," he said.
"We arrived at the scene after we had been alerted and there was an ambulance ... and there was a fire truck there as well. They had just arrived not long before we arrived.
"[The fire service] had all their cutting gear out. I didn't see them using the cutting gear but they had it all deployed."
An image of the scene showed the yellow ute appeared to have crashed into a wire fence before sliding down a small bank off the side of the road. Bush surrounded the passenger's side door.
Mr Moody said the man had to be taken out of the lower side of the vehicle.
"When they found him he was still in the cab of the ute, partially in and partially out. When we arrived he was still in the ute. He was receiving attention from the St. John member at the time."
He said the man was "conscious and in pain" during the rescue.
The man's family were also at the scene.
Mr Moody said they were very relieved to have found him."They had been out looking for him throughout the night.
They knew he was missing because he was due home at some point but he hadn't arrived home."
It is believed the man spent around 10 and ½ hours trapped in his vehicle.
Mr Moody said he was still in the car at 8.30 this morning then the chopper arrived at the scene.
He said the man's family had found him after day break.
The video purportedly shows him scaling down from the eighth floor.