Dutch paraglider crashes into high voltage lines, leaving Austrian region without power

A 56-year-old Dutchman got seriously hurt when he crashed his paraglider into a high-voltage power line in Austria on Thursday. The accident left him in intensive care with severe burns and the villages around Greifenburg without power for several hours, AD reports.

According to local media, the paraglider took off from the officially approved launch site on the Emberger Alm at around 11:30 a.m. for a recreational flight ending in the Greifenburg valley. Authorities suspect that he misjudged the altitude during landing and had to divert into a meadow.

The man flew in a loop to the south, was likely blinded by the sun, and crashed into the 20-kilovolt power line. The paraglider hitting the high-voltage cable caused a short circuit, giving the man severe burns and cutting power to the surrounding villages.

Emergency services stabilized the man at the scene and rushed him to the Graz University Hospital. He is in intensive care but is conscious and stable.