Passersby sit on 77-year-old paraglider's canopy to stop him falling down 120ft cliff following crash2 J5 i5 ^% P/ Z6 [5 |+ T4 R+ `; W
- Sudden gust of wind caused the thrill-seeker's canopy to collapse sending him hurtling out of control
- Heroic members of the public saw the emergency unfold and rushed to the edge
- Emergency crews scrambled a helicopter to free the man from the perilous perch
- Injured pensioner from Taunton, Somerset, flown to hospital with a dislocated hip following the accidents at Eype, near West Bay, Dorset
By Tom Gardner
; x- [/ p) m% d5 B' e/ i& wtvb now,tvbnow,bttvb% i9 [8 q8 t" g( z, q9 `
A pensioner who crashed his paraglider into a 120ft cliff miraculously escaped plunging to his death when when quick-thinking passersby raced to his aid - and sat on his chute to stop him falling.5.39.217.76/ o: j' p! Z7 D5 S: T* l* l- Q
TVBNOW 含有熱門話題，最新最快電視，軟體，遊戲，電影，動漫及日常生活及興趣交流等資訊。. |* X- w f2 Z9 t% v3 S) K' T
A sudden drop in wind caused his canopy to lose height sending the man, from Taunton, Somerset, hurtling towards sheer cliff.公仔箱論壇, ~& r) q- Q0 [! q5 ^! T
& @5 ?' W- d3 G$ [5 F5.39.217.76The thrill-seeker, 77, was left dangling helplessly 100ft above a beach after hitting the rock face.tvb now,tvbnow,bttvb" J, H" N0 S5 p1 q5 M
0 i7 i: z# d# C4 ]公仔箱論壇 tvb now,tvbnow,bttvb+ U) _) y" e2 `$ a9 n
Rescue: The 77-year-old had a miraculously escaped falling to his death after losing control of his paraglider when passersby sat on his chute 5.39.217.76+ j$ Q* n5 }- ]* r# n; q; C
公仔箱論壇% O" q+ r* x- S2 u7 t/ c
0 G M, L K4 @7 t+ N3 Qtvb now,tvbnow,bttvbMiraculous: Quick-thinking passersby dashed over to the stricken paraglider's chute and sat on it before the pensioner could continue falling down the 120ft cliff at Eype, near West Bay, Dorset
7 K; g, _- L7 e7 C! T, P9 ~; \
$ z- b! x0 O. \, g) mSeveral heroic members of the public saw the emergency unfold and rushed to the edge as the yellow and white canopy draped over the top of the grassy cliff." w, r. V( O4 r, N! K
$ r* L% D) m# @+ g; Y* c2 C; rThey sat on the chute to stop the pensioner, who was tethered to it by a rope, desperately clung on to the rocks for 30 minutes until he was plucked off the cliff face by a coastguard helicopter.TVBNOW 含有熱門話題，最新最快電視，軟體，遊戲，電影，動漫及日常生活及興趣交流等資訊。- }" g2 O7 Z+ O! i9 t# R
& Q) ?# _+ F$ r- i i* e4 u
The man, who has not been named, was then flown to hospital with a dislocated right hip.
% p& u6 ^1 s( F1 F4 _' ^tvb now,tvbnow,bttvb
, n# v) R5 K, A( a- V. V# W公仔箱論壇The dramatic incident happened as the paragliding pensioner, who was part of a larger group, was flying above the cliffs at Eype, near West Bay, Dorset, at 6pm last night.
( p* }( C# }! \3 s, Q" T公仔箱論壇
( U. F6 s8 x# f; W3 N0 s& bIt was too dangerous for the members of the public, firefighters and coastguard officers to pull him up so the Portland coastguard helicopter was scrambled.
4 ^4 ^: W6 y7 h$ F9 m& D公仔箱論壇
5 w X8 L E4 y) N( c
9 ]; k! @7 i( K" I3 C! \7 etvb now,tvbnow,bttvbSaved: The elderly thrill-seeker was left dangling helplessly 90ft above a beach for 30 minutes while an army rescuers worked out how to reach him
# R. K8 n! ]; \9 L/ |; GTVBNOW 含有熱門話題，最新最快電視，軟體，遊戲，電影，動漫及日常生活及興趣交流等資訊。
0 P P8 d0 h }9 r% [1 C, e5.39.217.76After he was rescued the man was lowered on to the cliff top so he could be treated by paramedics before he was airlifted to the Dorset County Hospital at Dorchester.
4 d' N- y" F& L+ {, e; N3 |
8 b" y) x2 ~8 i. c8 mMartin Cox, 58, who owns the nearby Highlands End Holiday, said: ‘I arrived on the scene and looked over the edge of the cliff and saw a chap attached to a paraglider canopy that had got into difficulty.$ s# \8 r8 u* x! p4 G* f% N* p
$ ?1 X! q) h" u# ~7 o! \0 f5 S
‘He was just hanging from the cliff and people were sitting on his parachute to stop him slipping down.公仔箱論壇, _& S5 ]* D& N( v+ w; _( ?
; _' q+ B$ q# N( B3 X% f
‘The fire service put a line down to try and reach him and then the helicopter winched him up to the flat on the top of the cliff where they dealt with his injuries.
5 f7 F# _% S& | n. W7 ttvb now,tvbnow,bttvb5.39.217.762 _2 X+ _5 q! i( m8 S/ a- d8 q. @' O
‘It was the first time I have ever seen something happen like this, despite an awful lot of paragliders using these cliffs.: P B Q N/ [7 I+ S0 b) z1 I. v" w
! r( S' `! u* S6 Y5.39.217.76‘I rather admire him for doing it at the age of 77.’
# [, ~6 r/ J; A4 z* h9 W1 Xtvb now,tvbnow,bttvbTVBNOW 含有熱門話題，最新最快電視，軟體，遊戲，電影，動漫及日常生活及興趣交流等資訊。' v! w4 K! ^1 M, B3 @
It is thought the victim is a member of the Devon and Somerset Condors hang-gliding and paragliding club.5.39.217.761 u. s7 c, _. R) {% M' O- X
tvb now,tvbnow,bttvb5 V* {9 U. {) ~2 `6 I
A spokesman for Portland Coastguard said: ‘The victim has all the normal kit with him and seemed to be an experienced and proficient paraglider.tvb now,tvbnow,bttvb: t. W5 g- A$ Y4 n* y0 m% e
‘But what seems to have happened is that there was a loss of lift in the wind and that caused him to drop. e2 M+ H, r, l- n# w: j7 u# i" r4 @$ k
7 i; m9 ^1 X ?3 V2 @( q1 J* X
‘After he dropped he crashed into the cliff but luckily his equipment got caught on the cliff.5.39.217.76/ \2 r, [6 ^* r4 A8 S6 o& U2 A) }
' n. S. S% U6 N, z公仔箱論壇‘He was in a very precarious position and the cliff rescue team thought it best for the helicopter to winch him off the cliff face.
% @2 `; f. h% N( w! utvb now,tvbnow,bttvb
I. V; ]8 R+ Q% ^7 N! G公仔箱論壇‘He suffered a suspected dislocated hip. After he was stabilised at the scene he was airlifted to hospital.
5 [* d1 D5 W; ]; [0 |5 Etvb now,tvbnow,bttvb
# |1 m( A: r6 M8 f7 T* `; _% _公仔箱論壇‘He was very lucky considering the position he found himself in.’公仔箱論壇, ~8 |0 ?1 w4 s2 l
公仔箱論壇 k, F+ I, c* j( B8 f& P
 . b4 F0 J2 L8 N& ^( h) T3 H. d
Heroics: The paraglider was finally winched from the cliff by a coastguard helicopter and flown to hospital where he was diagnosed with a dislocated hip公仔箱論壇9 z9 H$ X# k. I; w+ z7 W. j
tvb now,tvbnow,bttvb+ n$ o, e I6 u4 M+ N, Y0 k
|
發表於 2012-5-30 06:51 AM
| 
