Man found alive in car five hours after crashing into river

A motorist has survived by breathing through a pocket of air for five hours after crashing his car into an icy river.

Emergency services were called at around 5:20am on Wednesday after a red Ford Fusion was spotted upside down in the Klamath River in Siskiyou County, California.

Highway patrol officers said the vehicle's four-way emergency flashers were on.

They didn't realise Michael Finn, 28, was alive inside the vehicle until it was pulled out of the river with the help of a tow truck.

Mr Finn told officers he believed he had crashed at around 3am local time (11am GMT), around five hours before the rescue at 7.55am (4.55pm GMT).

Bob Giannini, dive team commander at the Siskiyou County Sheriff's Office, said he had "never found a survivor like this" in 20 years of experience.

He told ABC News: "We did not expect anybody to be alive in that vehicle.

"(The car) was turned upside down with its wheel out of the water, about 15 feet from a bank."

Mr Finn was able to survive by breathing from a pocket of air inside the car.

He was taken to the Fairchild Medical Center where his organs are reported to be in unstable condition.

The California Highway Patrol does not know how the accident happened, but has reminded drivers to "slow down during hours of darkness" when roads are icy.