‘It’s a miracle’ men survived

Three friends crawled injured up a bank to get help after their car plunged 300 metres off a road and rolled ‘‘countless’’ times.

Police said it was a ‘‘miracle’’ the three men survived the crash on Banks Peninsula on Wednesday.

Constable Jeremy Hopson said the men, in their early 20s, were driving along Summit Rd, near Little Akaloa, on their way back to Christchurch about 2.40pm.

‘‘Just with the real bad weather, with drizzle and fog, the driver didn’t know the road and just didn’t see the bend coming and pretty much drove off the bend and off he went.’’

Hopson said the car rolled about 300 metres down to the bottom of the bank and into a stream.

‘‘I lost count how many times it would have rolled by the gouges in the shrubbery.

‘‘They’ve all got out OK and literally crawled up the hillside back to Summit Rd.’’

As luck would have it, the first car that came past them was a doc- tor, he said. ‘‘It’s a miracle they’ve all survived,’’ Hopson said.

‘‘I’ve never seen anything like it and see people walk away.’’

A Westpac Rescue Helicopter went to the Duvauchelle A&P Showgrounds to meet an ambulance that had the car occupants on board.

The helicopter flew one of the men to Christchurch Hospital with moderate injuries. He was in a stable condition, a hospital spokeswoman said. The other two patients were taken to hospital in ambulances.