Skydiver saved in daring midair rescue

A German skydiver who became injured and could not pull her own rip cord is lucky to have suffered only moderate injuries after a dramatic midair rescue 14,000 feet above ground, the Telegraph reported today.

Katharina Wagner, 24, a veteran who had made more than 1,000 jumps, leaped from an airplane on Sunday afternoon but was caught by a strong gust of wind and slammed shoulder-first into the fuselage.

With her arm disabled, she was unable to pull the deployment handle on her parachute.

What happened next, one witness told the Telegraph, "was like something out of an action film."

Wagner's life was saved by another female skydiver who jumped simultaneously from the same plane, saw what had happened and veered toward her injured companion during their free fall. The unnamed rescuer pulled Wagner's rip cord, then veered off and pulled her own cord.

Wagner's landing was a bumpy one, though. The skydiver was unable to steer her parachute and she struck a lamppost before sprawling on a main road, the report said.

Wagner remains hospitalised with a broken arm and injuries to both legs, but is expected to fully recover.