mmg.com.au

Two men suffered serious injuries in separate jet-ski accidents on the Murray River on Sunday.

A Queensland man, 68, who had been riding a jet-ski was reportedly found floating in the river near the Echuca east boat ramp at about 1.40pm.

He was rescued from the water and taken by ambulance to the Echuca hospital.

Deniliquin police Leading Senior Constable Peter Joice said the jet-ski had been seized by police for ‘‘evidentiary purposes’’.

An Ambulance Victoria spokesperson said the man had a fractured skull, a broken leg and facial injuries.

He was later transferred by air ambulance to the Alfred Hospital for further treatment, in a serious but stable condition.

The ambulance spokesperson said it was believed the man had hit a tree.

A Kangaroo Ground man, 45, was also seriously injured later in the afternoon near the Wharparilla Drive boat ramp.

Leading Sen. Constable Joice said the man was a passenger on a jet-ski that appeared to have taken a bend widely, and then ‘‘passed through a fallen tree’’, before the ski ran into a parked boat.

He said the jet-ski mounted the parked boat and then ran into the retaining wall of the river bank.

The injured man was taken to Echuca hospital with a broken leg, serious facial injuries and possible spinal injuries.

He was transferred to the Royal Melbourne Hospital later on Sunday night, where he was in a stable condition yesterday afternoon.

Leading Sen. Constable Joice reminded river-users to be safe on the water.

‘‘We want people to be very careful at this time of the year, we have a lot of these tragedies at this time of year,’’ he said.

He said similar rules applied on the river as the road, such as using safety gear and not drinking.

‘‘We need people to behave responsibly on the water,’’ he said.

NSW Roads and Maritime is investigating both incidents.