By PAUL YANDALL and JARROD BOOKER
A Dutchman on a thrillseeking tour of New Zealand got more than he bargained for when his parapenting flight crashed on to high-tension powerlines in Christchurch yesterday.
The accident cut power to thousands of residents and left 21-year-old Onno Bertsma, of Rotterdam, clinging to a
powerline 40m above the ground in the suburb of Redcliffs.
He was winched down by helicopter after a 90-minute wait.
Mr Bertsma was unscathed but said he had grown tired during his ordeal and had suffered from cramp while waiting to be rescued.
"Everyone is trying to do something for you but it is so hard. You just have to hang on."
He said he had been enjoying thrillseeking activities in New Zealand for seven weeks and had successfully completed a parapenting jump earlier in the day.
But after he took off about 2.30 pm from Mt Pleasant, near the Christchurch Gondola, his second jump went horribly wrong.
"I saw it coming and I tried to correct, but there was just no way."
The experience has not put him off further aerial adventures: "I don't like powerlines any more though."
The WestpacTrust Rescue Helicopter winched Mr Bertsma free while power was cut to a neighbouring 66,000-volt line.
The 11,000-volt line Mr Bertsma crashed into was automatically shut down by the collision.
A rescuer eventually swung in close enough to get hold of him and he was winched down about 4.10.
Paramedic Evan Roper said Mr Bertsma was lucky to survive.
"It's lucky he did not fry himself on the power lines.
"The risk of fall was also substantial."
Power to thousands of residents in the southeastern suburbs of Redcliffs and Sumner was cut for 10 minutes while Mr Bertsma was being rescued.
Orion power company operations manager Graeme Messervy said the power cut affected about 2000 households.
An American woman was rescued from treetops in the same area six weeks ago, after her parapenting flight went astray.
