A paraglider has shared his extraordinary story of survival after being unexpectedly lifted into the upper atmosphere during a flight, reaching an altitude of 8,598 metres without oxygen, and narrowly escaping death.
Peng Yujiang, 55, was conducting a routine equipment test on Saturday at a training site about 3,000m above sea level in north-west China's Gansu Province, when he was lifted in an unexpected updraft over the Qilian Mountains.
"I had just bought a second-hand paragliding harness and wanted to test it. So I was conducting ground parachute shaking. After a while, the wind suddenly picked up and lifted me into the air. I tried to land as soon as possible, but I failed," Mr Peng told China Media Group.
What started as a calm session quickly turned dangerous when a sudden surge of wind pulled him into rapidly forming cumulonimbus clouds.
Despite trying to descend, he became trapped in the cloud system.
"I found myself surrounded by cumulonimbus clouds and trapped inside," he said.
"It was terrifying — everything around me was white. Without the compass, I wouldn't have known which direction I was heading.
"I thought I was flying straight, but in reality, I was spinning. Eventually, I managed to fly out toward the north-east."
Experts said Mr Peng encountered a rare and dangerous phenomenon known as "cloud suck", a condition in which strong convective updrafts carry paragliders to extreme altitudes.
Inside such clouds, experts explained that temperatures can plummet to -40 degrees Celsius and oxygen levels are severely low.
Without an oxygen mask and with his face exposed, Mr Peng endured freezing conditions as ice crystals formed on his face, body and equipment.
His gloves were not fully zipped, leaving his hands numb and nearly frozen. Still, he managed to control his paraglider using his compass and radio communication with teammates.
"As soon as I came out of the clouds, I was very excited because I had survived. The scariest moment was when I tried to pull out of the spiral and failed and when the canopy nosedived. It's still frightening to think about. I'm not sure about the future, but for now I definitely won't fly for a while," he said.
Looking back at his flight data, he was shocked to learn he had reached 8,598 meters — far higher than he had realised mid-air. He suspects he may have briefly lost consciousness during descent.
His experience echoes that of German paraglider Ewa Wisnierska, who survived -40C temperatures after being sucked into a storm system in northern NSW in 2007.
She reached an altitude higher than Mount Everest.
Ms Wisnierska said blacking out saved her life because it "slowed down all her functions".
She had been training for the upcoming Paragliding World Championships at the time.
Mr Peng meanwhile has been paragliding for four and a half years and holds a B-level licence — China's second tier in a five-level system, requiring at least 20 days of flight experience and a minimum of 40 individual flights.
The Gansu provincial aeronautical sports association issued a report on Wednesday, local time, saying that ground parachute shaking does not require prior approval and that Mr Peng's experience was entirely an unforeseen accident.
However, Mr Peng was still handed a six-month flight suspension, as the flight site and airspace had not been approved in advance.
Reuters/ABC
