Base jumper literally leaps to the rescue of injured colleague
A BASE jumper was helped by a friend who leapt after him when he lost control and crashed into a 530ft cliff at a coastal beauty spot.
The friend, a trained paramedic who had been waiting to jump, sprung into action and jumped after the injured man to provide treatment at the foot of a cliff at Beachy Head, near Eastbourne, East Sussex.
The thrill-seeker had leapt from the cliff wearing a wingsuit but lost control and swerved into the rocks, causing him to fall hundreds of feet to the beach below and break his hip. The coastguard and search and rescue helicopter were dispatched to rescue the man after his fall.
After being treated by a second paramedic from a rescue helicopter, the injured man was transported to a meeting point in Brighton before being taken to hospital.
A spokesman for the coastguard said: “This afternoon, Birling Gap Coastguard team were tasked to a base jumper whose parachute had pulled him towards the cliff.
“It was reported by his friends that one of the other base jumpers was a paramedic, who immediately jumped off the cliff to his aid.
“A lifeboat, along with the search and rescue helicopter from Lydd in Kent, which arrived first, were also tasked.
“A paramedic on board the helicopter treated the base jumper, who is believed to have suffered a broken hip, and was stuck at the beach close to the Beachy Head Lighthouse.
“He was then airlifted to a meeting point in Brighton, before being handed over to ambulance crews.”
Beachy Head is popular with tourists looking to take adventurous selfies, while thrill-seeking base jumpers also regularly use the cliffs, taking advantage of 530ft drop.
However, the unstable chalk cliffs have experienced a number of rock falls this year and the UK Coastguard Agency has since issued a warning to people to keep away from the edge of the cliffs in case they slip and fall while taking pictures.
The warning has not stopped some careless sightseers who have reportedly been trying to capture the perfect image for their social media accounts by taking selfies while teetering on the ledge.