A man has been rescued after the excavator he was working in fell more than four metres off a bridge in the South Burnett region.
The man in his 60s had been dismantling the disused timber bridge near Nanango about midday when part of it collapsed, sending the 24-tonne excavator into the dry creek bed where it landed upside down.
![A man in his 60s was rescued by emergency services after the excavator he was working in fell off a bridge.](/web/20170322084009im_/http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/content/dam/images/g/v/3/a/b/r/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.gv3a6i.png/1490086270017.jpg)
Queensland Fire and Emergency Services incident controller Inspector Mark Long said the man had serious injuries, but was lucky to be alive.
"He is a very lucky man, it would have been a very scary ride down in that excavator," Inspector Long said.
![Rescuers assessing the scene after an excavator plunged off a bridge.](/web/20170322084009im_/http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/content/dam/images/g/v/3/a/b/s/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.gv3a6i.png/1490086270017.jpg)
"If he had of fallen out of the excavator it would have fallen on top of him.
"It fell four metres down to the river bed, thankfully there was no water in the river."
The inspector said Queensland Ambulance Service crews were already assisting the man when the fire crews arrived on scene, and the fire crews worked with them to get the man back up to ground level.
"We took down a basket stretcher, got him into that, and used a ladder slide to get the patient up," he said.
![The man had been working to dismantling the old bridge when it collapsed, tipping the excavator into the river bed.](/web/20170322084009im_/http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/content/dam/images/g/v/3/b/3/7/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.gv3a6i.png/1490086270017.jpg)
Inspector Long said how that worked was QFES crews laid a ladder down the bank of the creek, tied the basket stretcher to a rope and then used the ladder "like a train track" to slide the stretcher up to the road.
"It's a lot more safe, and easier," he said.
![The man was airlifted to Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital in a serious but stable condition.](/web/20170322084009im_/http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/content/dam/images/g/v/3/b/3/2/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.gv3a6i.png/1490086270017.jpg)
Once up at the road, QAS crews worked to stabilise the man until the RACQ LifeFlight Rescue Helicopter arrived.
Inspector Long said the rescue helicopter crew also worked for a while to stabilise the man, with crews from the ambulance and the helicopter working on him for an hour before he was flown to hospital.
Inspector Long said the man was talking and conscious throughout the rescue and did not have too many visual injuries, but had suffered injuries to other parts of his body.
The man was taken in a serious but stable condition to Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital.