Skydiver hits power lines near Vernon Airport

VERNON – A skydiver hit a power pole and ended up tangled up in power lines near the Vernon airport today.

The man was parachuting with a group from Okanagan Skydiving just before noon, Aug. 3, when he hit power lines on the 6600-block of Tronson Road, according to Vernon Fire Rescue Capt. Colin Clarke.

“They aren’t sure what happened, but he they were heading toward the landing zone when he suddenly veered off… he struck a power pole and was knocked unconscious,” Clarke says. “He ended up tangled up in some power lines.”

As the skydiver hung unconscious from the power lines, emergency crews waited 20 minutes for B.C. Hydro to show up and turn off the power. There was no fire and no arcing from the power lines.

“He regained consciousness when we started to move him,” Clark says.

The parachutist was transported by ambulance to Vernon Jubilee Hospital in serious condition, according to B.C. Ambulance.

Power was out for about an hour to over 4,400 customers in the area during the rescue.

This isn’t the first skydiving mishap involving jumpers with Okanagan Skydiving.

A parachutist slammed into a house near the airport a year ago after he passed out on his way down.

Last month, a skydiver was taken to hospital after losing control and hitting a chain line fence bordering the airport.

To contact the reporter for this story, email Howard Alexander at halexander@infonews.ca. To contact the editor, email mjones@infonews.ca or call 250-718-2724.