FIVE occupants of a car crash on the Great Alpine Road south of Harrietville were rescued on Sunday evening after turning off a cliff and falling 200 metres from the edge, but they all managed to survive with non-life threatening injuries, according to Victoria Police.

According to police, emergency services were called to reports a car had driven down a cliff on Great Alpine Road about 6:15pm.

Senior Sergeant Doug Incoll, of Bright Police, said the three adults and two children in the vehicle were rescued as part of a multi-agency high-angle operation, including CFA and SES.

Victoria Police media said a 59-year-old woman was airlifted to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, a 34-year-old woman was taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, and a 35-year-old man and two children were taken to hospital for observation.

Sen Sgt Incoll confirmed the 59-year-old woman had been airlifted to the Alfred Hospital in Melbourne, while the other occupants of the car were taken by ambulance to Wangaratta Hospital.

“It’s lucky there weren’t major injuries or deaths,” he said.

According to Sen Sgt Incoll, the driver of the car had turned left into a sign advising of a left hand turn 50 metres ahead.

He said fatigue was a possible cause of the crash, as the group had travelled from Melbourne that day, been sightseeing at Mount Hotham, and were driving back to Bright.

Meanwhile, weather conditions were clear and the road was dry, he said.

He reminded motorists to take due care on Great Alpine Road and take proper fatigue breaks when needed.

He said it took emergency services around four hours to clear the scene, with the road between Harrietville and Mount Hotham closed for around 3 hours.

Marcus Warner, Bright SES deputy controller of operations, said around 40 first responders attended, including members of the Bright SES, Mount Beauty CFA, Bright CFA and Harrietville CFA.

He said members of Fire Rescue Victoria, the Mount Beauty CFA and Bright SES mounted a technical rescue that allowed personnel and stretchers to be lowered around 160 metres down from the edge of the cliff.

According to Mr Warner, they found the two children around 50 metres from the vehicle and were able to carry them up to the road on foot, while the 59-year-old lady was taken by stretcher, requiring four rescue attendants.

He said they found the 34-year-old woman underneath the vehicle, and she was also taken by stretcher.

He said it was a successful rescue, “with all agencies working seamlessly in challenging conditions.”

Sen Sgt Incoll also commended emergency services.

“It’s a great example of a multi-agency response to an incident that could have been avoided,” he said.