Wednesday, February 14, 2007

2007's luckiest man...so far...

The man who fell 12,000 ft ... and survived...oh yes, definitely the most lucky so far...

It's the most gut-wrenching, mesmerising and shocking clip of video footage imaginable.

Shot from the tiny camera in the helmet of champion skydiver Michael Holmes, it records with chilling clarity what happened when he plummeted 12,000ft to earth.

There is the moment when he tugs his ripcord and discovers his parachute won't open. There are the frantic efforts to release it, made as he spins so fast that movement is almost impossible.

Just 550ft above the ground, he waves goodbye to the world and screams a last message into the camera's microphone, resigned to a horrific death. Moments later comes the sound of the sickening impact - and then blackness.

As he rushed to help, his helmet camera recorded the incredible outcome. Michael was bleeding, broken, unconscious - but alive. He survived the fall from 2.2 miles above Lake Taupo in New Zealand, with only a punctured lung and a broken ankle.

You can see the full video here, there's a news video here, and also a gallery of photos.

No comments: