Dramatic moments erupted in Moab, Utah, when a gust of wind tossed a BASE jumper into a rock face. Fortunately, the athlete’s parachute became entangled in a cliff. The man dangled more than 100 feet above the ground for an hour before he could be rescued.
Day trippers vacationing in the area captured the spectacular crash with a mobile phone. “It’s a spectacular canyon with massive 600 to 700 foot cliffs on either side,” family man Mitch Edwards told media. The eyewitness assumes that a gust of wind took the base jumper off the (flying) path. “He just hit the thing hard and then started falling straight down,” says Edwards.
Together with his 12-year-old son, he had to watch as the man scraped a few meters along the rock face until the parachute caught on a ledge, trapping the athlete about 30 meters above the ground. The base jumper was knocked unconscious by the hard blow against the wall. Edwards had no cell phone service to call for help, so he asked a passing driver driving out of the ravine to raise the alarm as soon as he had cell phone service.
Helpers had to climb the rock face
A helicopter was eventually deployed, but it would not have come close enough to the victim to save him. Finally, helpers climbed up the rock face from below to get to the BASE jumper and rappel him down. According to the sheriff responsible, the athlete survived the dangerous incident and was flown to a hospital in critical condition.
Source: Krone
I am Wallace Jones, an experienced journalist. I specialize in writing for the world section of Today Times Live. With over a decade of experience, I have developed an eye for detail when it comes to reporting on local and global stories. My passion lies in uncovering the truth through my investigative skills and creating thought-provoking content that resonates with readers worldwide.
