The Daily BuzzBASE jumper survives after equipment malfunction
Richard Henriksen was swinging around a high bar at the edge of a 1,200-metre high cliff when it broke
Felix Baumgartner wasn't the only daredevil in action the past few days and while his stunt had its hiccups, it went remarkably smoother than Richard Henriksen's base jump.
The Norwegian veteran jumper, who is a surgeon and father of five, was swinging around a makeshift high bar at the edge of 1,200-metre high cliff when the gym equipment collapsed. He was preparing to swing off the bar and deploy his parachute. But he was thrown from the mountaintop earlier than he thought and just narrowly missed smacking into the side of the cliff.
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The whole thing was caught on camera by Norwegian TV network NRK. Are Sende Osen, the host for the network, said when it happened the crowd let out a collective gasp, according to Orange News.
CNN reported, "one witness said everyone was certain he'd been killed."
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Henriksen managed to open the chute seconds before landing and that softened his collision with the ground. He escaped uninjured and said he didn't understand how serious it was until he was playing with his kids later.
The New York Daily News reports he said, "I sat with the two youngest children, reading and singing to them, then it dawned on me that my children could be without a dad."
