Officers save the day after paraglider plunge

GUARDIA Civil officers came to the rescue last week when a 62-year-old man who was paragliding lost control, plunged into the sea and was unable to get out.

The officers, from the provincial maritime service, were carrying out maintenance tasks when they noticed a group of paragliders and saw that one of them had become separated from the rest and appeared able to control his apparatus.

As they watched, the policemen reported that the man fell to the sea about 30 metres from their position. Upon approaching the officers realised the elderly man was unable to extract himself from his equipment as the ropes had got tangled round his feet and saw he was sinking.

One of the officers quickly removed his uniform and jumped into the water to help, while his colleagues threw him a lifebelt.

Seeing he was unable to pull the man to safety due to the weight of the equipment, the other officers also entered the water and between them managed to get him to the docks, extract him from the equipment and get him out of the water unharmed.