A rookie skydiver found herself in a dangerous snarl on her very first jump after having her parachute tangled in power lines in California, setting the stage for a dramatic caught-on-camera rescue.
The nail-biter took place just before noon Monday in the 31900 block of Croydon Street in Lake Elsinore, located 70 miles southeast of Los Angeles.
Crews from Cal Fire/Riverside County Fire Department found the unfortunate skydiver dangling from the SoCal Edison’s high-tension electrical lines above the street level.
“She was just up there chilling, which was surprising because that’s pretty scary,” eyewitness Jose Olea told the station KCAL.
Firefighters had to wait about 40 minutes for utility workers to cut power to the wires to avoid electrocution during the rescue operation.
First responders used an aerial ladder to reach the trapped parachutist, who was conscious and talking, and lead her down to safety before 1 p.m.
Incredibly, the woman escaped unscathed. She was evaluated at the scene by medics but refused any further medical treatment.
Once back on firm ground, the skydiver, who declined to give her name, told NBC Los Angeles that she was trying to avoid flying into another set of power lines but ended up ensnared on Croydon Street.
The woman said she is “not sure” how she survived but was “super thankful.”
Reflecting on her harrowing ordeal, she said: “it was very, very scary, but I was trying not to panic.”
The ill-fated parachutist is a student at Skydive Elsinore and was making her inaugural jump Monday using her own canopy, according to Josh Hall, the skydiving facility’s general manager.
“The parachute opened properly and was in perfect working order. At some point during the parachute descent, the jumper became confused and flew away from an open landing area and into power lines,” Hall told The Press-Enterprise.
Battalion Chief Jeff Roberts, of the Cal Fire/Riverside County Fire Department, said he does not know how the skydiver avoided electrocution, “but she did,” he noted.
When asked if she would consider taking to the skies again after her brush with death, the skydiver sounded skeptical.
“I don’t know if I’m going to jump again,” she replied. “Probably not.”
