The emergency services were alerted at 16.42 about an excavator that had slid off a bridge outside Falkenberg and into the river Ätran.
– It is an excavator driver who was going to cross the river, then he slipped off the bridge and went into the water. It was five meters deep, but he managed to kick out a window and got out himself, says owner Thomas Andersson, duty officer at the rescue service.
The driver then made it home to his residence a few kilometers away and was able to raise the alarm.
– He was a little shocked but otherwise in good spirits, says Thomas Andersson.
The excavator must now be salvaged and the rescue service has laid out bilges to prevent oil from leaking into the river.
– We have investigated and it is not leaking now, but bilges are laid out that can absorb oil if it leaks during salvage, says Thomas Andersson.