Surfer wakes from coma

A KITESURFER who sustained multiple injuries when a freak gust of wind dragged him ashore has woken from a coma.

Jan Honza Stastny, who is in his 20s and originally from the Czech Republic, was caught by the gust while kitesurfing in Courtmacsherry Bay on July 16.

Onlookers watched him fight with his controls as he was lifted up to nine metres in the air and flung inland.

He struck the beach, before the wind caught his kite again and slammed him against a storage shed.

He lost consciousness and the wind caught his kite again and lifted his limp body into the air.

Holidaymakers said he looked like a rag-doll as he struck sand-dunes, then the top of a truck before his kite finally snagged on a skip bringing him crashing down onto a tennis court.

Jan suffered severe back, spinal and head injuries, multiple internal injuries, and has been in a coma at Cork University Hospital since.

Last week, Jan opened his eyes for the first time since the accident three weeks ago. He is “getting stronger every day” and “things are looking up”, friends have said.

Sources close to the family said they are extremely grateful to the medical staff and have been overwhelmed by the outpouring of support from the public.