HAULED UP: Police pulled the vehicle they found today in the Waikato River near Pukete bridge up a nearby bank.

A car that plunged into the Waikato River last night has been found by police divers - but there is no sign of the driver.

Police had been searching for the vehicle after it left the northern-end of the Pukete Bridge, on Wairere Dr, in Hamilton at about 8.40pm last night.

Divers located the car shortly after 12.30pm.

PETER DRURY/ Fairfax NZ VEHICLE FOUND: A diver prepares the vehicle found by police today in the Waikato River near the Pukete bridge.

Inspector Karen Henrikson said the vehicle was found about 40m north of the bridge at a depth of about 2-3m.

A search has now begun for the occupants of the vehicle, both in the river and on the riverbanks. A forensic analysis of the Toyota was also underway.

Divers said visibility in the river was poor and it was flowing quite fast.

CHRIS HILLOCK/FAIRFAX NZ OVER THE EDGE: Emergency services on Hamilton's Pukete Bridge, where a car plunged over the edge and 15m to the river below.

Emergency services searched the water and bank for the driver yesterday, not knowing whether he'd made it safely to shore before they arrived.



However, Waikato road policing manager, Inspector Leo Tooman, today said police had interviewed five people so far, including one man who was pretty sure he saw a person swim from the wreck.



Police have yet to receive a missing person report. They urged anyone involved in the crash to contact them.



Tooman said police were working on piecing together what happened last night. It was believed the car crossed the centreline and hit a concrete barrier before rebounding on to the correct side of the road, crashing through a barrier and dropping into the river.



"There was poor visibility at the time and despite emergency services converging on the scene and having a police rescue boat in the water, the vehicle has still not been located."

Another motorist, Tracey Liddington, said some large pot holes on that section of road could be to blame.

About an hour earlier she drove over that section of road and "lost control".

"I almost went over the bridge myself," she said. "I was lucky to be able to gain control of the car and that's why we reported it.

"At the time I said 'someone is going to go over that bridge'."

Her husband rang the police to tell them of their concerns.

She said she couldn't see the potholes because it was wet and dark.

"I thought if something did happen to someone else I would feel really bad. I could actually see something like that happening. I thought it was really unsafe."

Her daughter had also almost lost control at the same spot in a separate incident.

Both were at the scene last night giving statements to police.

While a scene guard remained on the bridge the Pukete Bridge was currently open to traffic both ways.



"This may change later in the day depending on the needs of searchers however we will publish any changes to traffic management through media alerts and traffic phone lines," Tooman said.



The crash came just two hours after a heavy downpour of rain which caused a spate of crashes across Hamilton last night.