On the Gaisberg

Fire department rescues paraglider from a tree

A sportsman got his paraglider caught in a tree on the Gaisberg on Tuesday morning. The man was unable to free himself. In a one-and-a-half hour operation, the Salzburg professional fire department brought him down.

The Salzburg professional fire department was alerted at around eleven o'clock on Tuesday. A paraglider had crashed into a tree on the Gaisberg right after take-off. The man got caught in the branches. "He got into turbulence after take-off. Four high-altitude rescuers descended from above and then climbed up into the tree to him," explains Andreas Reitsamer.

The head of operations on the Gaisberg describes the special task involved in such a rescue as follows: "It's not that easy when a person gets caught in the branches of a tree. You have to approach it carefully and build an ascent safety device," says Reitsamer.

His team was able to bring the man to the ground almost unharmed. Together with the mountain rescue team, he climbed back up to the summit. According to the fire department, a trip to hospital was not necessary.