A paraglider, who crashed at a popular tourist spot in NSW and got stuck on a cliff, has been saved after a high-risk rescue operation.
Emergency services were called to Otford Road at Stanwell Tops, 57km south-west of Sydney, at about 1pm on Saturday after reports a man collided with a cliff while paragliding.
The crash happened soon after take-off and he fell about 10m down the rock face, a NSW Ambulance spokesperson told Daily Mail Australia.
The man in his 50s landed on a ledge where he waited to be rescued.
A multi-agency operation was launched by the ambulance service, Police Rescue and SES to carry out the challenging vertical rescue.
The paraglider was brought off the cliff face at 4.30pm and treated at the scene after injuring his shoulder.
‘I’m so grateful to have this amazing team, they are incredible,’ he told Nine News.
‘It was my mistake actually. I did some move and yeah, it happened.’
A paraglider in his 50s collided with a cliff near Stanwell Tops in NSW soon after take off
Emergency services carried out a high-risk operation over multiple hours to remove him from a ledge safely (stock image)
When the paraglider had been carried him to the top of the cliff, his friend was waiting for him with a beer because he worried his friend needed to ‘cool off’ (pictured)
A friend waited for the paraglider at the top of the cliff with an open beer which was poured into his mouth while he lay in a stretcher.
‘We gave him a beer to cool him off because he was there all afternoon and probably was dehydrated,’ the mate said.
The ambulance spokesperson said the man was in a stable condition and was taken to St George Hospital, south of Sydney.
NSW Police have urged the public to avoid the area on Saturday evening.
Stanwell Tops, known for its beautiful coastal and cliff views, is a popular location for visitors to paraglide and hand glide.
The injured man said emergency services needed to rip up his safety rope to help get him to safety.
He said it was ‘fair enough’ but added he would need to find more rope to get back to paragliding.
