Carbon Bootprint
13th Aug 2011, 15:31
A paraglider collided with a cable car on Mt. Tegelberg, near Neuschwanstein castle in southern Germany, stranding nearly two dozen tourists aboard the cable car. After 18 hours, several helicopters managed to extract all passengers safely, as well as the hapless paraglider and his passenger.
Story here (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-14516477) (Despite the lead paragraph, a number of ships were employed, as can be seen in the link below.)
A helicopter has plucked to safety 20 people stranded in mid-air on a cable car in southern Germany after a paraglider collided with the cables.
The 19 passengers and conductor were brought to safety after spending 18 hours suspended 80m (260ft) above the ground at Mt Tegelberg in Bavaria.
Rescuers supplied food and blankets, and toys for six children aboard, while waiting for strong winds to die down.
They also freed the paraglider and his tandem passenger.
The head of the cable car operator, Tegelbergbahn, said he was shocked the paraglider had apparently tried to cross the cables.
Pilots knew they were only allowed to fly parallel to them, Franz Bucher said, according to the Sueddeutsche Zeitung newspaper.
It was not immediately clear if the pilot would face charges.
Nine flights
Mt Tegelberg is close to the fairy-tale castle of Neuschwanstein, one of the country's top visitor attractions, and those aboard the cable car were said to be tourists.
Most of them were Germans and they included two east Europeans. They ranged in age from four to 75.
When the paraglider's parachute became tangled in the cables on Friday, visitors were left stranded in three groups
Twenty in the car at 80m
Thirty in a second car closer to the ground
About 130 at the station on the mountain itself
Those on the mountain were also brought to safety by helicopter while the occupants of the second car were apparently rescued by climbing teams later on Friday.
However, the evacuation of the first car could only proceed on Saturday morning, requiring nine helicopter flights over two hours.
A photo gallery on Bavarian radio's German-language website shows various helicopters delivering people to safety.
http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/54581000/jpg/_54581902_012650447-1.jpg
http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/54586000/jpg/_54586697_jex_1136662_de27-1.jpg
Pictures here
(http://www.br-online.de/br/jsp/seitentyp/bildergalerie.jsp;jsessionid=L0H5CDX2N50YQCSBUKUCM4Q?idx=0&id=1313218914576)
Well done chaps! :D
Story here (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-14516477) (Despite the lead paragraph, a number of ships were employed, as can be seen in the link below.)
A helicopter has plucked to safety 20 people stranded in mid-air on a cable car in southern Germany after a paraglider collided with the cables.
The 19 passengers and conductor were brought to safety after spending 18 hours suspended 80m (260ft) above the ground at Mt Tegelberg in Bavaria.
Rescuers supplied food and blankets, and toys for six children aboard, while waiting for strong winds to die down.
They also freed the paraglider and his tandem passenger.
The head of the cable car operator, Tegelbergbahn, said he was shocked the paraglider had apparently tried to cross the cables.
Pilots knew they were only allowed to fly parallel to them, Franz Bucher said, according to the Sueddeutsche Zeitung newspaper.
It was not immediately clear if the pilot would face charges.
Nine flights
Mt Tegelberg is close to the fairy-tale castle of Neuschwanstein, one of the country's top visitor attractions, and those aboard the cable car were said to be tourists.
Most of them were Germans and they included two east Europeans. They ranged in age from four to 75.
When the paraglider's parachute became tangled in the cables on Friday, visitors were left stranded in three groups
Twenty in the car at 80m
Thirty in a second car closer to the ground
About 130 at the station on the mountain itself
Those on the mountain were also brought to safety by helicopter while the occupants of the second car were apparently rescued by climbing teams later on Friday.
However, the evacuation of the first car could only proceed on Saturday morning, requiring nine helicopter flights over two hours.
A photo gallery on Bavarian radio's German-language website shows various helicopters delivering people to safety.
http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/54581000/jpg/_54581902_012650447-1.jpg
http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/54586000/jpg/_54586697_jex_1136662_de27-1.jpg
Pictures here
(http://www.br-online.de/br/jsp/seitentyp/bildergalerie.jsp;jsessionid=L0H5CDX2N50YQCSBUKUCM4Q?idx=0&id=1313218914576)
Well done chaps! :D