A man is in a critical condition after his truck crashed over a bridge on a highway in Victoria's south-east and fell 20 metres into a river.
The truck tumbled over the bridge on the Bass Highway this morning and partly landed in the Bass River.
Country Fire Authority captain Barry Dakin said it took crews half an hour to free the man, who is in his 20s, from the wreckage of the truck's cabin.
"He's very lucky to survive it, the way it landed," Captain Dakin said.
"It wasn't looking real good. [He] took a lot of getting out.
"He was crushed between the roof and the body of the truck in quite a narrow space.
They had to get the jaws of life in there and open it out."
The man has serious injuries to his head, chest and pelvis, Ambulance Victoria said.
He was treated by paramedics at the scene before being flown to the Alfred Hospital by air ambulance.
The truck was bound for Phillip Island.
Victoria Police Sergeant Peter Pearce said it would take some time to recover the truck from the river.
"At the moment the truck is … underneath the bridge," he said.
"It's going to be a protracted event. There's going to be booms in place to protect the waterway underneath."
Police are urging motorists to drive carefully and to avoid the area if possible.
Traffic management is in place to allow vehicles to travel through the area in both directions at heavily reduced speeds.
