UP to 50 cubic metres of rubbish has been retrieved from the Ovens River near Wangaratta following a truck crashing into the waterway on Wednesday night.
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But the emergency team controlling the clean-up says a lack of qualified coxswains and rubbish retrievers is hampering the operation.
Incident controller Andy Miller, of Parks Victoria, said four boats, two belonging to the SES and two contracted, worked at the weekend.
“We can’t just use volunteers and the man in the street because it’s a dangerous environment we’re working with,” Mr Miller said.
“We don’t want to turn this into a tragedy by having someone untrained or unfamiliar with the environment getting into trouble.”
Information officer Gabrielle Grant said part of the truck’s metal chassis was found two kilometres downstream of the crash site.
Mr Miller said there was 40 tonnes of cargo foodstuff, but it would weigh more now having become water logged.
Six kilometres of the river, from the crash site at the Hume Freeway to the Frank Garth Reserve, has been shut to the public with the clean-up going until at least Friday.
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