Guess what? He was hanging UPSIDE-DOWN.

Paraglider survives three days dangling upside down in a tree

An Italian paraglider was recovering in hospital yesterday after crashing in high winds into a mountain forest — and hanging upside down in a tree for three days.

Antonio Montagno, 47, crashed last Thursday after launching himself from a height of 2,700ft (820m) on Monte Mignaio near Florence.

After an intensive search he was found on Sunday at a height of 1,220m in the Vallombrosa forest, dangling at the top of a giant beech tree, with his right leg trapped in the tangled ropes of his glider.

Yesterday Mr Montagno, an experienced paraglider, was in intensive care at Careggi hospital in Florence suffering from hypothermia, dehydration and kidney failure. Doctors operated on the badly damaged muscle tissue of his leg and said they were confident that he would survive.

Carlo Nozzoli, the head doctor at Careggi hospital, said that Mr Montagno had been found just in time. “People can survive three to four days without eating, but not without drinking,” he said.

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