A Miraculous Escape., page 1

Ewa Wisnierska, a German competitor practicing for the upcoming world paragliding championships made an amazing escape from a thunderstorm which swept her to over 30 ooo feet. Another competitor , He Zhongpin was tragically killed in the same storm
Ms Wisnierska lost consciousness as she her onboard computer recorded a rate of ascent of over 20m / second, but amazingly despite build up of ice and battering by hail which left Ewa with frostbite and contusions, her paraglider wing remained intact and inflated.
As she descended over 1 hour later she regained consciousness and made a safe landing miles off course, radio tracking allowed rescuers to reach her quickly and treat her injuries .

www.timesonline.co.uk
A champion paraglider is being hailed as “the luckiest woman alive” after being caught in a freak storm that sucked her to an altitude higher than Mount Everest.

Ewa Wisnierska is believed to have flown unconscious for almost one hour through a violent thunderstorm which catapulted her to the cruise altitude of a jumbo jet and left her body covered in bruises and shrouded in ice.

Incredibly, her paraglider came through the storm intact and she eventually landed 60 kilometres from her launch site. Ms Wisnierska, 35, was treated in hospital for severe frostbite injuries to her face but was otherwise unharmed after her ordeal

Please visit the link provided for the complete story.

Paradoxically the extreme cold helped to save her life, as her metabolism was slowed down , reducing the demand for oxygen, though it is almost impossible to determine why one person lives and the other dies.
Our condolences to the family of Mr. Zhongpin

[edit on 17-2-2007 by UM_Gazz]