A paraglider’s misfortune was a source of entertainment for a crowd of amused onlookers in North Vancouver Monday night.
The paraglider said he intentionally crashed into some powerlines around Montroyal Boulevard and Ranger Avenue, in the Canyon Heights area, to avoid landing on any parked cars.
But that tactic left him tangled in the lines and dangling in the air for more than an hour while he waited for firefighters to help him down.
In the meantime, area resident Neil Cody said about 150 people gathered outside to watch the rescue.
“All my neighbours were here,” Cody said. “Neighbours with their dogs and everybody else. It was a spectacle. It was better than fireworks.”
The paraglider, a man in his 50s who said he’d been flying for decades, was less enthusiastic about the situation.
“He was actually a bit stunned. He was embarrassed. This was not what he expected,” Cody said.
Fortunately, the paraglider was uninjured.
BC Hydro said the incident cut power to thousands of people in the area for about an hour.
