Unconscious skydiver is saved by friends mid-air after being knocked out by fellow diver

Head-cam footage shows James Lee plummeting to the ground before his quick-witted friends deploy his parachute and save him

Heather Saul
Friday 31 January 2014 12:07 EST
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Friends of James Lee as they grab him and deploy his parachute after he was knocked out by another diver
Friends of James Lee as they grab him and deploy his parachute after he was knocked out by another diver (MSN)

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A skydiver was saved mid-air by his quick-thinking friends when he was knocked unconscious by another diver just seconds after jumping out of a plane at 12,500 feet.

In the footage obtained from his head camera, James Lee can be seen hurtling unconscious towards the ground before two other skydivers realise what has happened and begin to chase him in the air.

They then use hand signals to check for signs of consciousness before putting him in a more stable rolling position and deploying his parachute.

Mr Lee, 25, was taking part in a jump in Wiltshire with 12 other divers when the incident occurred.

Mr Lee, who was undertaking his 1,050th jump, told the Mail Online: “I've been skydiving for five years and this was my 1,050th jump. There were 12 people in this skydive, with others leaving the plane just after we jumped off.

“One of the skydivers who left the plane through the door came out unstable and went into a spin.

“They were falling faster than I was and their shin impacted the back of my helmet with a lot of force, knocking me out.”

“At first the other skydivers gave basic hand signals that we teach our students to correct their body position and found I was still not responding.

“They signalled to the other jumpers to get away as they were unaware of what was happening. They then deployed my main parachute. Once I was clear they deployed their own.”

He regained consciousness shortly before hitting the ground and landed safely with no memory of the incident.

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