Parachutist critical after mid-air collision

An Austrian paratrooper was critically injured today after he collided with another parachutist in mid-air during a demonstration.

The two men’s chutes became tangled as they fell towards the crowd at the Air Power ’03 show in Zeltweg, 115 miles south-west of Vienna.

One of them was able to untangle his chute and land safely.

The injured man could only open his smaller, emergency chute which slowed his fall and probably saved his life. Witnesses said he still hit the airfield at high speed.

He was rushed to the emergency neuro-surgery unit of a hospital in nearby Graz.

Both parachutists were members of an Austrian military flight squadron.