Paraglider stuck in bushland at Corryong rescued by police chopper in five-hour ordeal

Extraordinary police chopper footage has captured the moment a paraglider stuck 10m high in a tree in the High Country was winched to safety. Watch the video.

Extraordinary police chopper footage has shown the moment a paraglider stuck in a 10m high tree for more than five hours was winched to safety in the state’s rugged High Country.

The paraglider crashed into dense bushland on Mount Mittamatite in Corryong, in the far northeast of the state, sparking an emergency rescue mission about 3pm on Monday.

The woman became wedged in a tree 10m from the ground and was unable to free herself due to the height and blustery conditions.

Extraordinary police chopper footage has captured the moment a paraglider stuck 10m high in a tree in the High Country was winched to safety. Picture: supplied

Vision shows the moment rescuers locate the paraglider. Picture: supplied

Local police at Corryong, more than 130km east of Albury, alerted the force’s search and rescue team in Melbourne, who were flown by the police chopper to assist the rescue.

Four search and rescue members — who are highly trained in vertical rescues — were dropped on a nearby track before hiking 300m through the bush to reach the woman.

One experienced member climbed the tree and set up a roping system to slowly lower the woman to the ground, before the pair were winched up to the chopper.

The woman was safely taken on-board about 8.40pm, ending the difficult five-hour rescue mission in the dark.

She did not require any medical treatment.

The paraglider became stuck 10m high in a tree in the High Country. Picture: supplied

The rescue mission was a delicate operation, according to Victoria Police. Picture: supplied

Victoria Police Inspector James Dalton of the search and rescue squad said it was a delicate operation.

It is a five-hour trek by road but members in the chopper were able to reach the woman in just over an hour after it left Melbourne.

“This rescue was complex — we had a paraglider stuck at height, in rugged terrain and on top of that strong wind made it challenging for the aircrew,” he said.

“Thankfully our highly skilled search and rescue police were able to get there as quickly as possible with assistance from the Air Wing.

“It’s always a great day at work to rescue someone in need.”

Originally published as Paraglider stuck in bushland at Corryong rescued by police chopper in five-hour ordeal