Base jumper in hospital after parachute fails on Beachy Head cliff
Footage showed a small group of base jumpers leaping from the East Sussex coastline on Sunday
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.A base jumper has reportedly suffered two broken legs after their parachute failed to open following a 530ft jump off Beachy Head.
Emergency services scrambled to the cliffside following the incident at 9.15am on Sunday and the man, thought to be in his 40s, was airlifted to hospital.
Footage shared on social media showed a small group of base jumpers leaping from the East Sussex coastline yesterday.
The man, who has not yet been identified, is understood to have jumped but his parachute did not fully open.
He was later winched up to a search and rescue helicopter before being taken to Brighton Hospital, as reported by the Brighton Argus.
Read more:
Base jumping involves leaping from an inanimate object and then deploying a parachute to land safely back to the ground. Beachy Head has been a popular spot for the thrill-seeking hobby in recent years.
A Coastguard spokeswoman said: “A 999 call was received at 9.15am today reporting an injured person at Beachy Head.
“The Coastguard rescue teams from Eastbourne, Birling Gap and Newhaven, the RNLI lifeboat from Eastbourne, the search and rescue helicopter from Lydd and the South East Coast Ambulance Service attended the scene.
“The casualty was winched by the search and rescue helicopter and airlifted to Brighton Hospital where they were passed into the care of medical staff.”
Beachy Head is the highest chalk sea cliff in the UK and stands at 162 metres above sea level.
Additional reporting by PA
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments