Perilous rescue of a paraglider stuck in the cliffs of Saint-Eynard

A paraglider, clinging to a near-vertical rock wall, precariously balanced, 200 m above the void. This is what the rescuers saw when they arrived to his aid in the middle of the imposing cliff of Saint-Eynard, in Isère. His sail suddenly closed. He found himself thrown against the wall by the wind. "He was lucky not to be injured. He was standing on the ledge, slightly inclined, holding on to flat holds. He was not on the verge of giving up, but he was in a very precarious situation", underlines Jérémie Pesenty, from the CRS Alpes. Then begins a most perilous maneuver. The helicopter cannot get too close: its breath could cause the parachute to inflate and unbalance the victim. The rescuers were therefore dropped off 60 meters to his right. They manage to reach him and hoist him on board. “We winch at 90 meters, which is the maximum length of the cable, to avoid blowing and dropping stones since there was a risk of stones falling,” further indicates Jérémie Pesenty. An experienced practitioner The miracle worker is 53 years old. He is an experienced practitioner. But the winds, sometimes violent at this time of year, generate risks well known to paragliders in the sector. “We have big turbulences, all the same, which rise in the afternoon. And that can cause a closure to paragliders, either total or partial,” recalls Bertrand Chatain, paragliding instructor. Evacuated by civil security, the paraglider escaped with a simple sprain of his little fingers.