Cape Town – A group of pupils from Hermanus High School have been hailed for coming to the aid of a paraglider who collided with a tree across the road from the school.
The Grade 10 and 11 pupils placed high-jumping mattresses at the trunk of the tree to break his fall last Tuesday.
The school said he was just too high to be reached with any ladder in town.
“We immediately phoned the emergency services, and some of the teachers ran to assist. The paraglider was just too high to be reached. The quick thinking of Ms De Villiers, with Mr Kuhn, Mr Mangiagalli and Ms Nel had the learners running (it was break time) for the best ‘safe fall’ they could think of; the high jump mattresses.
“The learners all left after break and unfortunately the branch that caught the paraglider gave way and he fell,” the school said.
The paraglider reportedly fell from the tree onto the high jump mattresses and suffered only mild injuries.
“We are very grateful to hear that he is doing fairly well in hospital, and wish him a speedy recovery. The actions of our pupils and quick thinking of our teachers spoke volumes amid the emergency, and we are extremely proud of the way they handled the situation,“ the school said.
The Western Cape Health Department said two rescue units and an ambulance were dispatched to the scene.
“They found the learners had placed high jump mats underneath the tree, which did indeed break the paraglider's fall.”
Cape Times