A truck and trailer that plunged 10m down a bank into a river has closed a busy highway between Auckland and Tauranga.
The driver of the truck escaped unharmed after the dramatic crash on State Highway 2 in the Karangahake Gorge this morning.
Fire and Emergency northern shift communications manager Jaron Phillips said a freight truck laden with fruit plummeted into the Ohinemuri River between Paeroa and Waihi at 5am.
Firefighters helped the truck driver up the steep bank, said Phillips.