A British vacationer’s daring adventure took a perilous turn when he found himself stranded 230 feet above a beach in Thailand, following a paragliding mishap. The incident unfolded in Railay Bay, located in the scenic southern province of Krabi, where 51-year-old Thaddeus Toms embarked on his flight on Wednesday morning.
Launching from one of the region’s stunning limestone cliffs, Toms encountered an unexpected shift in the wind. This sudden change forcefully thrust him against the rocky surface, resulting in a broken leg and leaving him precariously suspended for hours. His parachute became hopelessly ensnared among rocks and trees, compounding his predicament.
Fortunately, the stranded paraglider caught the attention of a marine patrol team from the Hat Noppharat Thara–Mu Ko Phi Phi National Park around 10:30 a.m. Swiftly, they contacted emergency services to initiate a rescue operation.
In a concerted effort, park officials, climbing experts, and volunteers pooled their expertise to safely retrieve Toms. After an arduous six-hour ordeal, he was finally brought down to safety by approximately 4:30 p.m., much to the relief of all involved.
Toms was spotted by a marine patrol team from the Hat Noppharat Thara–Mu Ko Phi Phi National Park at around 10:30am, who alerted emergency services to rescue him.
Park officials, climbing experts, and volunteers immediately began a rescue and Toms was finally brought down to safety at around 4.30pm.
An initial assessment found abrasions on Toms’ body and a broken leg, and he was transported to a nearby hospital for further treatment.
Images from the rescue operation show a specialist rappelling down the precipice with an injured Toms clinging onto him.
British tourist Thaddeus Toms was rescued after he became stranded 230ft above a beach in Thailand after his paraglide crashed into a cliff. Picture shows Toms clinging onto the rock side following the failed paragliding attempt
A specialist climber is pictured rappelling down the precipice with an injured Toms clinging onto him
Separate pictures show Toms lying in a hospital with a cast on his broken leg.
The incident comes just weeks after a paraglider fell nearly 500 feet into the Atlantic Ocean after losing control mid-air.
Brian Wenglarz, 52, was seen soaring through the sunny skies above southern Florida on January 9, when a propeller noise from his powered paraglider suddenly cut out.
His kite then started to blow back and forth, and soon Wenglarz was seen corkscrewing down into the water at Ocean Reef Park in Riviera Beach.
When the terrifying cellphone footage ends, all that can be seen is a kite floating above the waves off Singer Island.
It is now believed Wenglarz hit a gust of wind and lost control of the powered paraglider, which typically includes a backpack with a motor and a kite, causing his parachute to partially collapse.
Fortunately, Sara Williamson, a lifeguard at Palm Beach County Ocean Rescue, was sitting right nearby and witnessed the entire ordeal herself.
She told The New York Times that powered paragliders are a rare sight along the stretch of southern Florida coastline, so when Wenglarz came soaring by, it caught her attention.
Park officials, climbing experts, and volunteers managed to bring Toms back to safety after six hours
As soon as he landed in the water about 75 yards offshore, Williamson said she sprang into action.
‘Within maybe seconds of him crashing into the water, I started running,’ she told ABC News. ‘And radioed my partner, John Wendel.’
Wendel then recounted how Williamson asked if he could see the paraglider, ‘and all I could see was a speedboat with a parasail behind it, and [I] just couldn’t see the victim.
‘She radioed ahead because she knew that this [could be] bad,’ he added.
But within minutes, Williamson said she and her partner were able to reach the crash site, where they came across a man in a diving mask who had been snorkelling nearby.
That, she told WFLX, ‘was a godsend because we did not have a mask, and he was able to get underwater and free the man while we secured him.’
Together, Williamson and Wendel were able to bring Wenglarz back to shore with only cuts and scrapes, which they attribute to the fact that he was wearing a helmet at the time his kite went down.
