Karma served on driver who tried to make miracle bridge crossing

A Dutch man was miraculously unharmed after a failed bid to launch his car across a retractable bridge but broke his ribs and punctured a lung while climbing out of the water.

CCTV footage recorded on Wednesday in Holland shows a silver station wagon plummeting into the water after it races up an incline and towards a 5m chasm between a bridge that is yet to connect.

Bruinisse police say the 56-year-old driver had sped his vehicle underneath the arm of a security barrier before attempting his Hollywood movie crossing.

The elderly Dutch man was taken to hospital with injuries he suffered after falling onto a concrete barrier while escaping from the water.

The waterway was closed for several hours while a crane winched the car back onto dry land.