Hard landing results in broken bones for Immokalee paraglider

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A paraglider suffered several broken bones Sunday morning after making a hard landing near Immokalee Regional Airport. (Photo courtesy of Immokalee Fire Control District)

IMMOKALEE, Fla. – A paraglider suffered several broken bones Sunday morning after a hard landing near Immokalee Regional Airport.

“The caller was actually the victim so he was able to get us pretty good information about where he was at,” said Capt. Josh Bauer with the Immokalee Fire Control District.

The paraglider, described as someone with a back-pack type paraglider rig, landed on the service road behind the airport, Immokalee Fire Control District Chief Paul Anderson Jr. said.

“The individual explained that he was getting too close to power lines, and in an attempt to avoid the power lines he clipped a tree, which made him lose control,” he said.

The man, whose identity was not immediately released, was conscious and talking when authorities arrived. He was airlifted to Lee Memorial Hospital as a trauma alert.

Paragliding around the airport is not an unusual occurrence. About six people do so every weekend, said Bauer, adding that crashes are rare.

“Probably in the last 10 years we’ve had two maybe three of these incidents, that’s it,” he said.

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