Aussie hits glass window during base jump

An Australian base jumper suffered minor injuries on his legs and thigh when he smashed through a glass window at level 15 of the Sarawak's tallest building, Wisma Sanyan today.

Gary Favre, 42, was doing his trial jump from the top of the 28-storey building during the Sibu International Base Jump 2017 event when the incident occurred at about 9am.

"He was given first aid and stabilised at the medical room onsite and was sent by ambulance to a private medical centre here where he received a few stitches to the cut on his thigh," said Sibu Division Tourism Task Group (SDTTG) chairman Hii Chang Kee.

Hii, who is also Sibu Resident, said accidents do happen in base jump and the organisers would continue to remind the participants to be extra cautious.

He said safety briefing had already been done for the participants yesterday afternoon.

Malaysia Base Jump Association president Aziz Ahmad believed the incident had occurred not because of technical matter but rather due to bad luck.

"All of the participants are equipped with the necessary safety features, so this is not a technical issue but just bad luck," he said.

He said Favre, who had made 420 jumps previously, jumped for the first time in Malaysia today.

A total of 90 jumpers from 18 countries around the world participated in the annual event organised since 2009.

The most jumpers came from United States with 23 participants, followed by Australia (17), France (12) and Canada (eight).

During the event held until Sept 24, a week ahead of the KL Tower International Jump Malaysia, participants will make their way to the top of the 126-metre tall Wisma Sanyan before jumping down with the aim to safely land on the ground of the Sibu Town Square. -- BERNAMA