Paraglider rescued from cliff face Stanwell Tops, man falls down Tallong waterfall
A paraglider has had a brush with death after falling more than 10 metres and slamming into a cliff south of Sydney, while another 20-year-old man has fallen down a waterfall and become trapped in a horror start to the weekend.
NSW
Don't miss out on the headlines from NSW. Followed categories will be added to My News.
A paraglider has had a brush with death after falling more than 10 metres and slamming into a cliff south of Sydney, where he clung to a ledge before a complex rescue operation winched him to safety.
The male paraglider, believed to be in his 50s, crashed into the escarpment at Otford near Stanwell Tops shortly after midday on Saturday after taking off from Bald Hill Lookout.
Emergency services found the man stranded halfway down the cliff on a ledge and launched into a high-risk “vertical” operation to save him from the rock face.
The lengthy rescue took about three hours between NSW Police Rescue, SES crews, specialist paramedics and Fire and Rescue NSW to stabilise the man and hoist him to safety.
The paraglider suffered a shoulder injury and has been taken to St George Hospital.
Stanwell Tops is a popular paragliding spot but has been known for accidents.
Last December a paraglider slammed into powerlines causing a blackout across the town and in 2019, another paraglider tragically died after they were blown back into the cliff face.
Only a couple of hours away, another 25-year-old man has suffered shoulder and leg injuries after falling six metres down a waterfall onto a cliff edge near Tallong in the Southern Highlands at about 2pm.
The Saturday Telegraph understands the man was trapped on the cliff edge at Funnels Creek Falls for three hours as emergency crews tried to reach him in difficult terrain.
Police, paramedics, SES and rescue helicopters were also at the scene.
It is understood the man has been rescued and taken to hospital in a stable condition.
More to come.
NSW Budget: $500m cash boost for safer, stronger courts
A $500m pledge from the Minns Government will the criminal justice system will get more lawyers and prison guards and special rooms in courthouses to prevent domestic violence victims coming face-to-face with their attackers. See the breakdown here.
‘Too big for their boots’: Red tape slows airport build
Developers are calling for excessive red tape around the design of simple warehouses, roundabouts and sheds in the Western Sydney airport region to be cut, saying the laborious design review process is slowing new builds and adding on “highly questionable” artistic demands.