MA skydiver rescued after spending hours stuck in tree
A skydiver who was blown off course in Massachusetts has been rescued after spending a couple of hours stuck 70 feet up a tree.
Dunstable police said late Sunday that the man had been removed from the branches more than two hours after rescue teams were first dispatched.
Manny Ullaguari who had jumped many times before was learning how to skydive solo.
Emergency crews in Dunstable, Massachusetts rescued a skydiver stuck in a tree Sunday
Manny Ullaguari was learning how to solo skydive at Skydive Pepperell and was almost to the landing zone when he ended up in a tree
Don Mayer, the airport manager at Pepperell Skydiving Center, tells WBZ-TV the man was an experienced diver who missed the landing area.
Mayer says Manny was embarrassed, but not seriously hurt. It took fire rescue crews about 45 minutes to pull him from the branches.
He says there were five other people who jumped from the same plane.
'There was a lot of wind earlier today – it can be our friend and it can be our foe – and at this point on the superficial level it looks like he might have turned when he shouldn’t have,' said David Goldstein, instructor, and safety and training adviser to CBS Boston.
It took fire rescue crews about 45 minutes to pull him from the branches. They had to find a bucket truck that could reach
It took a couple of hours before firefighters arrived to rescue him
At first, we heard this crack of our tree,' recalled homeowner David Scharn. 'Then we heard, "hey, I'm stuck in a tree." So I thought it was some kid who climbed a tree and couldn't get down but then I went out there and could see the orange parachute at the top of the thee and this fellow was up there.'
'He was just screaming "help, help, help,' for a bit but his friends came over eventually and they kind of had a conversation," said Serena Scharn. 'So he's completely fine which is good, it's just kind of freaky.'
Scharn said Manny was sitting on a branch. He was one of six to jump out of a Pepperall Skydive plane at that time.
Manny who skydived in his native Guatemala said there a few nervous moments when he realized he was off course
Manny who skydived in his native Guatemala said there a few nervous moments when he realized he was off course.
'It happens – I was afraid maybe I hit my head on the tree,' he said.
Manny was checked out at the hospital. He only had a small scrape on his chest as evidence that anything at all went wrong at all.