Remarkable footage has emerged of a man being rescued from the mangled wreckage of his van, suspended amid the debris of the Genoa bridge collapse.

Firefighters carefully extracted businessman Gianluca Ardini, 28, out of his vehicle, which was barely recognisable, and then abseiled him down to the ground.

Mr Ardini reportedly plunged about 120ft in the vehicle before coming to rest amid the smashed remains of the bridge.

“We still can’t understand how it was possible for that to happen, but he is alive,” said his girlfriend, Giulia Organo, who is eight months pregnant.