Truck driver rescued after plunge into Buller River

A rescue helicopter had to winch a man to safety after his truck went over a bank and he was swept downstream in the Lower Buller Gorge this morning.

Campers raised the alarm when they heard a man calling for help after his small Isuzu rental truck overturned and went down the bank near Berlins just before 5am, said police.

They said the man was swept about 200 metres downstream and left clinging to a tree.

The driver of the vehicle was taken to Buller Hospital for treatment.

Westport fire service senior station officer Kevin Stechman said the truck ended up upside down halfway between the road and the river lodged against a tree.

The driver, who wasn't a local, attempted to get back to the road. He was on the water's edge when firefighters got to him.

Using ropes, firefighters accessed the man to ascertain his injuries and found he was fine.

A rescue helicopter then arrived from Nelson and rescuers winched the man up to a carpark at Berlins.

Firefighters were originally considering retrieving the man by jet boat before being informed the helicopter was on its way.

Mr Stechman said 12 firefighters attended the incident as well as St John, police and the rescue helicopter.

St John Buller territory manager Robbie Blankenstein said driver was lucky to escape with only minor injury. St John elected not to abseil down the bank after they established the man was uninjured.

Police said fatigue might have been a factor in the crash.

A West Coast District Health Board spokesman said the truck driver was in a stable condition at Buller Health. He has declined interview requests.