Helicopter flies injured paragliders from Shek O ridge
TWO paragliders were taken to hospital by helicopter yesterday after they crash-landed at Dragonback Ridge near Shek O.
The men, members of the Hong Kong Paragliding Association, were caught in a downwind as they sailed on easterly winds over the ridge at 5 pm, a few hours after the first tropical cyclone warning of the year was raised.
Frenchman Philippe Claudet Quinet, 32, suffered a suspected fractured spine while his friend, Israeli Eran Efrat, 37, had minor injuries. Both appeared to be in shock.
Two ambulance teams and fire officers made their way through thick bush to reach the two men. They administered first aid and kept them warm until the Government Flying Service helicopter arrived.
Mr Efrat, who said he had been paragliding for three years, described how the two were suddenly swept towards the ground after crossing the top of the ridge.
''The wind picked up very suddenly and took us over the ridge,'' he said. ''On the other side the wind can go into a rotary motion. It can make you drop or collapse the canopy.'' He said he was unsure exactly what happened, but remembers hitting the ground at speed on the side of the ridge.
He said he would take time to decide whether to paraglide again.
The helicopter pilot had to battle with the same winds which had caused the gliders to crash-land, but managed to perch the two rear wheels of the Sikorsky S76 on a bushy peak while the nose wheel hovered above the slope.
The injured men where taken on stretchers into the helicopter and flown to Queen Elizabeth Hospital at 7 pm.
A spokesman for the association, which has about 80 members, said the sport always had an element of risk.
''Unfortunately whenever we get publicity it is usually when something bad happens,'' he said.
