Woman rurvives 3,000 ft horror parachute fall

Lareece Butler, 26, suffered only bruises, a broken leg and concussion when she slammed into the ground, entangled in her chute.

The parachute was attached to the plane by a static line and was supposed to open after she leapt from the aircraft.

But instead, Miss Butler became caught up in the lines, spiralling to Earth as her terrified boyfriend looked helplessly on.

Doctors said her survival was "nothing but divine intervention, nothing short of a miracle".

She is in a stable but serious condition in hospital following the incident in Port Elizabeth, South Africa.

Joos Vos, the manager of the EP Skydiving Club, said: "She was trained in all facets she needed to enjoy and perform a safe static line jump.

"Lareece exited the aircraft at 3,000ft (about 1,000m) performing a static line jump in an unstable body position which resulted in an entanglement of the main parachute with her harness."

Family members told South African media Miss Butler was pushed out of the aircraft after refusing to jump - a claim rejected by the club.

Mr Vos said Miss Butler, who was an inexperienced skydiver, did not release her emergency parachute as she had been trained to do.

An investigation has been launched.


/Sky News/