Car flies off M3 and lands on roof (From Basingstoke Gazette)

Car flies off M3 and lands on roof

9:57am Sunday 19th August 2012 in Local By Chris Gregory

FIREFIGHTERS from Basingstoke were involved in a tricky rescue last night after a car left the M3 and landed on its roof.

Two men were injured in the one-vehicle crash. It took place at 1.50am this morning on the southbound carriageway opposite Fleet Services, near Hartley Wintney.

Watch manager Keith Jones, from Basingstoke fire station, said: “It was an Alfa Romeo that had left the motorway and ended up upside down in a culvert below the carriageway.

“One casualty had jumped from the vehicle and the other was still inside but we had difficulty getting to him. It was quite a difficult job.”

More than 20 firefighters from Basingstoke, Fleet and Hartley Wintney attended and two lanes of the carriageway were closed for two hours to make room for the rescue.

They used airbags to lift the vehicle and the aerial ladder platform from Basingstoke fire station to reach the injured man, who was then taken to hospital. 

The two men are not thought to have life-threatening injuries.