A SKYDIVER from Co Tyrone sustained multiple injuries and fractures when his parachute malfunctioned during a 4,270m (14,000ft) jump in the United States last Saturday.
Paul McMahon (29), a fitness and sports injury instructor from Drumlegagh near Barnescourt, about eight miles from Omagh, was in intensive care yesterday in Wilderman Hospital after his accident at the nearby Meriaetta Desert drop zone in California.
He suffered fractures to his femurs and pelvis as well as other injuries when he crashed head-first into the desert after his parachute malfunctioned at a reported 91 metres (300ft).
His parents, Victor and Betty, said yesterday the hospital staff in California as well as Paul's instructor, John Horne, from Carlisle in England, had described their son's survival as miraculous.
"For a few days, we didn't know how badly Paul had been injured and, to be honest, from our initial talks with hospital staff we didn't think he would survive," Mr McMahon said.
"The medical staff said as well as his multiple injuries, Paul had to receive six pints of blood. He was unconscious for three days, is in intensive care, will be on his back for up to six months and we've been told it'll take him two years to recover from his injuries.
"That rules him out of going to the Himalayas next year where he was booked to climb to the base camp at Mount Everest to raise money for wheelchair sportspeople," Mr McMahon added.
Describing the accident, he said his son jumped from 14,000ft.
"The first 10,000 feet were freefall and he opened his 'chute at 4,000ft. But, according to the instructor, as they approached the landing zone, Paul started to adjust his 'chute because he thought he was going to miss the zone. Suddenly the 'chute whirled around and kept going around like a wheel.
"Everything was out of control and Paul was dragged by the 'chute and smashed into the ground.
"It was Paul's fourth jump out there. He had spent the previous day in a wind tunnel. He is a very experienced skydiver, an all-round fitness fanatic. He's unbeaten in amateur boxing and he's an experienced mountaineer, cross-country cyclist and martial arts exponent."
Mr McMahon said his son was unable to speak at the moment because of his injuries.
"I'm hoping to travel to California this weekend to see Paul . . . I don't know how long I'm going to be there. The main thing is that Paul is alive and has somehow survived what many people said was unsurvivable."