Driver's body's found in vehicle which crashed off Maungatapu Bridge

Bent, broken and missing railings on the side of Maungatapu Bridge led to the discovery of a ute with a body still inside under water in Tauranga Harbour.

Passing motorists reported seeing damaged railings on the side of the bridge about 8pm on Saturday, but it was not readily apparent what had happened.

The police found security footage which showed a vehicle had collided with the bridge, but the footage did not show whether the vehicle had gone into the water or had driven away.

On Sunday morning, a team of police divers began searching the harbour near the bridge, in scenes eerily reminiscent of the death of 24-year-old Greg Woledge in 2013.

Woledge was driving a work van with a passenger and was hit by an oncoming car, forcing the van off the side of the bridge and into the water.

Passenger Ashley Donkersley, then aged 23, was rescued by Senior Constable Deane O'Connor who stripped off and jumped into the icy water to save him, but Woledge died in the van.

Yesterday a blue crane waited near the centre of the bridge to pull up the vehicle.

Divers found the vehicle underwater with the driver still inside.

A bluish grey double-cab ute with a white canopy was hoisted out of the water after midday.

Bits of broken railing were stuck to the front of the ute as it appeared above the waterline.

A hearse was seen leaving the area shortly before the vehicle was lifted from the water.

A woman, who did not want to named, said her home overlooks the bridge and she heard a loud bang about 7.30pm on Saturday night but could not see anything when she went outside to look.

"The traffic was still flowing in both directions so I did not think much about it until my husband came home about 9.45pm and told me there had been a serious crash.

"I was praying it is only one person, and not a family or a group of young people, but one death is bad enough. It's so sad."

A Maungatapu couple, who also did not want their names published, told the Bay of Plenty Times they were at Baypark Speedway on Saturday night when they were told the bridge was closed due to a crash.

The couple said the bridge was quite narrow and there was "little room for error" when something goes wrong and feared someone's family would shortly receive bad news.

The bridge and highway remained closed most of the day yesterday.

Police would like anyone who has any information about the April 27 collision to urgently call the Tauranga police station on 07 577 4300.