A paraglider in the Qilian Mountains of China survived after a sudden wind took him to an altitude of 27,800 feet and left him unconscious for a brief time.
Peng Yujiang, 55, was doing parachute training Saturday at a height of more than 9,800 feet when an intense wind lifted his glider. Unable to stop the glider from rising, Mr. Peng briefly fell unconscious until the cold temperatures in the air shocked him back awake, according to the Chinese state English-language paper China Daily.
“I found myself surrounded by cumulonimbus clouds and trapped inside. It was terrifying — everything around me was white. Without the compass, I wouldn’t have known which direction I was heading. I thought I was flying straight, but in reality, I was spinning. Eventually, I managed to fly out toward the northeast,” Mr. Peng told state broadcaster China Central Television, according to CNN.
Video footage of Mr. Peng showed ice covering his gear, body and face. He was eventually able to land at an altitude of around 5,900 feet, according to China Daily.
The Gansu Provincial Aeronautics and Sports Association has grounded Mr. Peng for six months because his flight was not registered beforehand, according to ExplorersWeb. A friend who released a video of the incident also has been grounded.
