Police and rescue services say a motorcyclist is "extremely lucky" to be alive after a dramatic helicopter rescue from the flooded Waimakariri River this morning.
The Westpac Rescue Helicopter winched the motorcyclist to safety as he was clinging to a tree in the swollen river, after being thrown from his bike in a crash on the old Waimakariri bridge.
The motorcyclist is a Rangiora man in his 40s.
Sergeant Mike Brooklands says at around 7.20 this morning the motorcyclist had been travelling south on the Main North Road at the old Waimakariri bridge when a truck heading north appeared to cross the centre line.
The truck hit the barrier on the opposite side of the bridge, crashing partly through the barrier with the front of the truck hanging over the side of the bridge.
"It appears the motorcycle had no chance to avoid the truck," says Sergeant Brooklands.
"The force of the collision has propelled the motorcyclist over the side of the bridge and into the river.
"He was swept about 40 metres downstream and was able to cling on to a tree on the north side of the river."
Police say the river was in flood, and was extremely high and flowing rapidly as a result of recent heavy rain.
"The man has been incredibly fortunate to have been able to grasp the tree and then to hold as help arrived."
Police communications alerted the Westpac Rescue Helicopter and Coastguard Ashley-Waimakariri who were on the scene within a short time.
The helicopter lowered a paramedic to assist the man and was then able to winch him to safety from the river at around 8.00am.
Conditions for the helicopter rescue were extremely challenging due to the flooding of the river.
The helicopter landed on the bridge where the motorcyclist was transferred to an ambulance which took him to Christchurch hospital. He was described as being very cold but had suffered only minor injuries.
"The man is extremely lucky to be alive," says Sergeant Brooklands. "If he had lost his grip on the tree it's unlikely he would have survived in those conditions.
"The rescue personnel have done an incredible job to pull him out of the situation."
The driver of the truck was assessed by ambulance staff at the scene but was not injured.
Police also praised the efforts of the emergency services that responded to the incident including the rescue helicopter, ambulance, coastguard and police personnel that were on the scene.
Police enquiries into the crash will continue. The bridge is expected to remain closed for several hours and traffic is being diverted.
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