DUNSTABLE, Mass. (WHDH) — Fire officials say crews in Dunstable Sunday night rescued a skydiver who had been stuck high up in a tree for several hours.
A technical rescue team responded around 7:15 p.m. to a home on River Street for a report of a skydiver who had become lodged in a tree after an apparent parachute malfunction.
“He was screaming help, help, help,” a girl who lives at the home said.
The skydiver spent more than 3 hours stuck 70 feet off the ground in a tree in the home’s backyard. The man was not injured, but officials say thick brushed slowed their rescue efforts.
Friends of the diver tell 7News that he has more than five years of experience. They say he tried to deploy his parachute at about 5,000 feet, but the line got twisted.
Rescue teams and firefighters from several surrounding towns were called in to assist. They gradually lowered the man to safety after cutting away branches and brush.
Friends say the man is lucky because he likely would have died if he hit the ground. He spoke about the incident shortly after he was rescued.
“I landed perfectly in the tree, sitting on a branch,” the man said. “I just happened to win the lottery today.”
The man was pulled down from the tree just before 11 p.m.
Watch the man’s full interview below:
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