A parachutist of American nationality, but residing in the United Kingdom, was seriously injured after a fall in the late afternoon of Tuesday, October 3rd, in the Portimão Aerodrome area.
Richard Marques, commander of the Fire Department of Portimão, told the Sul Informação that the skydiver, whose landing, at 19:27 pm, in a terrain close to the aerodrome, went very badly, was "unconscious", with "suspected traumatic brain injury". INEM's VMER provided the first assistance, but the athlete had to be transported to the hospital in Portimão.
The 41-year-old American participated in a parachuting event that is taking place at the Municipal Aerodrome in Portimo, which attracts dozens of athletes from all over Europe. But this was not the only accident recorded in recent days, although it has been, so far, the most serious.
Indeed, on September 27, at 13:09 pm, a 30-year-old Portuguese parachutist was trapped in medium voltage cables in the vicinity of the runway and had to be rescued by firefighters. The man and his parachute were unharmed from the incident.
On October 1st, at 14:05 pm, another 22-year-old British parachutist suffered minor injuries, while on October 2, at 17:32 pm, it was the turn of a Mexican athlete who was also injured in the fall, without seriousness.
Richard Marques pointed out that, during these parachuting events at the Portimão Municipal Aerodrome, considered a mecca of the sport in Portugal, the firefighters from Portimão have there «a permanent brigade», which guarantees «the first line of response» to these accidents.
«Going skydiving, at this level, is as dangerous as skiing and practitioners know the risks they run. What we need is to have everything prepared to happen quickly when there is a more serious situation», underlined the commander of the Fire Department of Portimão, in his statements to Sul Informação.
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