A Chinese man barely survived a paragliding flight off a mountain when he was pulled into a freezing cloud vortex that nearly killed him.
The hobbyist identified as Liu Ge started his flight off the Qilian Mountains in northern China on Saturday, but soon found himself pulled into a freezing cold mountain cloud system that forced him soaring higher than his initial 9,850 feet above sea level flight path, the New York Post reported.
A GoPro video of his flight shows the paraglider pilot quickly icing over his exposed face as he struggles to find his way out of the swirling and deadly clouds.
Liu claimed that the temperature around him reached minus 40 degrees, and he also reported that the oxygen thinned to dangerous levels.
“I felt oxygen deficiency and my hands were freezing,” Liu reportedly said after finally making it back to Earth. “But I kept communicating via the intercom.”
Video shows Liu iced over and struggling to breathe.
Ultimately, Liu was able to wrest himself out of the sub-zero cloud system and landed safely, but he suffered severe frostbite in his hands and face and is now recovering at a hospital.
The paraglider may also suffer other consequences. Chinese authorities, though, have announced an investigation into the flight.
Authorities suspect that Liu may have violated a ban on paragliding above 16,405 feet, which is prohibited by the country’s air traffic control rules.
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