A 43-year-old man died after the bakkie he was driving in plunged into the Vaal River, paramedics said on Saturday.

"The incident occurred at 8.45pm on Friday night," said ER24 spokesperson Derrick Banks.

He said it was believed that the man may have hit an island while going over the Vaal River bridge on the R57. The bakkie then plunged 30 metres off the bridge, and seven metres into the water.

"We managed to extract his body at 11.30pm...he was still in his vehicle...and may have drowned."

Banks said he was not sure if it was raining at the time of the incident and the vehicle was still being extracted from the river.

Sapa