A man has survived after he was hit by a car and thrown up to 20 metres through the air and off the Channel Island bridge, landing on the rocks below, the media has reported.

St John NT operations manager Craig Garraway was reported by the NT News to have said paramedics had been “shocked” that they had found the man alive, after the pedestrian was hit by a car on the bridge on Wednesday night.

“The pedestrian’s actually been flung about 15, 20 metres through the air and actually landed at the bottom of the bridge on some rocks,” he was quoted as saying.

“Paramedics were quite shocked to find that he was still alive when they got there. [It was] quite a complex rescue with the tide coming in and him being in such a critical condition.”

Mr Garraway was reported to have said the man had “quite serious” injuries and was and taken to Royal Darwin Hospital after being rescued with the help of CareFlight and the NT Fire Service.

The paper also cited NT Police Commander Clinton Stewart, who said the man was hit sometime around 10.30pm, while the driver had also hit two stationary vehicle, and it was yet to be established if drugs or alcohol contributed to the crash.