UPDATED, 12.50pm: Victoria Police homicide squad detectives are assisting Warrnambool police investigate how a 28-year-old woman suffered critical head and spinal injuries.
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Warrnambool police Inspector Gary Coombes said a Warrnambool man aged in his late 30s remained in police custody after being arrested about 5.30pm Wednesday.
He said he expected the man to be charged with assault-related offences.
"He's in custody and is yet to be charged. Homicide squad detectives are assisting with the investigations," he said.
"It's an active investigation and we're looking at all aspects.
"The victim remains in a critical condition."
Sources said the woman was on life support in support but her condition had improved overnight Wednesday.
The woman was assaulted in her Ocean Grove units overnight Tuesday, before an ambulance was called by an unknown person soon after 10am on Wednesday.
She was in a critical condition with life-threatening head and spinal injuries.
The woman was assessed and treated at the Warrnambool Base Hospital before being flown to the Royal Melbourne Hospital.
Anyone with information about the incident which happened overnight on Tuesday at the Ocean Grove units in Warrnambool is requested to contact the Warrnambool police station or Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
Wednesday, 5.45pm: A Warrnambool man in his 30s has been arrested in relation to a serious assault on a Warrnambool woman.
The man is assisting police with their inquiries after he was taken into custody at 5.30pm.
Detective Sergeant Jason Dance said a manhunt had been conducted for a person of interest.
"We are no longer looking for anyone," he said.
"The man is assisting us with our inquiries. We have no further comment to make at this stage."
The man is likely to be charged with serious assaulted-related offences and held in custody overnight to assist police.
EARLIER: Police have launched a manhunt for a Warrnambool man in 30s after a woman was flown to a Melbourne hospital with critical head and spinal injuries.
Senior Sergeant Shane Keogh, of the Warrnambool police family violence unit, said an incident had happened at a unit in Warrnambool's Ocean Grove overnight Tuesday.
He said a 28-year-old woman, who was a resident of the unit, was seriously assaulted, suffering significant injuries.
"She lives here. She's suffered head and spinal injuries," he said from the scene on Wednesday.
"An unknown person has contacted Ambulance Victoria this morning and they've alerted us.
"The woman was transported to the Warrnambool Base Hospital for assessment and treatment and she's then been flown to the Royal Melbourne Hospital in a critical condition after suffering potentially life-threatening injuries."
Senior Sergeant Keogh said police had launched a manhunt for a Warrnambool man aged in his 30s.
"We're making inquiries in relation to that person of interest and his whereabouts," he said.
"Crime scene officers are in the process of examining the unit. We've also talked to neighbours and they have been able to provide us with some information."
The senior sergeant requested anyone with information about the assault to contact Warrnambool police station or Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
An Ambulance Victoria spokeswoman said the service was called just after 10am, treated a woman in her 20s and took her to the Warrnambool Base Hospital in a critical condition.
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