PHOTO/SUPPLIED
Vehicle abandoned when water poured through windows
Three men were forced to make a quick escape when the vehicle [pictured above] they were in began to fill with water after a failed attempted crossing of the Ruamahunga River near State Highway 53 in Martinborough on Thursday night.
The Martinborough Volunteer Fire Brigade was alerted to a vehicle stuck in the river at 7.30pm.
They found the three men on the river bank.
They told firefighters they had tried to cross the river, got stuck, and had abandoned the vehicle when water began to come through the windows.
Chief Fire Officer Jake Hawkins said he was paged on his way home from work so drove his ute to the job.
The crew had all their water safety kit ready, linked the vehicle up to Hawkins’ ute and towed it out of the river in readiness for a tow truck to take it away.
Hawkins said the river was “quite swift”.
The three men were checked over by paramedics but there were no concerns for their condition.
