Emma Carey’s parachute suffered a malfunction when she was coming down.
A skydiver survived a fall from 14,000 feet and the video of her incredible story is going viral on social media. Emma Carey said the incident took place when she was on vacation in Switzerland in 2013. Speaking to news.com.au, Ms Carey said she and her friend Jemma Mrdak was against skydiving. But the thrill and excitement of the extreme sport drew Ms Carey towards it. However, the thrilling experience for then-20-year-old turned into a nightmare after complications with her parachute.
“I was like surely I’ve died, like surely this is it. And then the next feeling that I had was just the most intense pain,” she is heard saying in the clip that has amassed more than 1.5 million views.
That’s insane..
Can’t believe it
Survive 14,000 ft fall??????😲 😯🤯🤯🤯 pic.twitter.com/PRYGrVROOe
— Dedoyin (@rheelz1) November 29, 2023
“When we jumped out (of a helicopter), I was loving it. And so I felt my instructor’s tap on my shoulder who asked me to cross my arms. That’s when they were meant to pull the parachute. But it didn’t happen. I was like ‘Okay. Well, I’m sure he’s doing everything he can’. But then the moment I really realised was when I saw a scrunched up parachute in front of us,” Ms Carey said at a podcast.
“I thought 100 per cent like this is it. And then we hit the ground. Somehow, I wasn’t knocked unconscious at all. I was completely awake the entire time,” she added.
Ms Carey said she thought she is in heaven. “But the pain made me think I’ve gone to hell.”
She told news.com.au that the parachutes strangled her instructor and he lost consciousness. Ms Carey tried yelling out at her instructor, but he wasn’t responding.
“I remember thinking, ‘Oh my god, Jemma’s going to have to find me on the ground.’ I remember thinking about my family and the main thing I remember feeling is just kind of regret for not embracing my life fully up until that point,” she was quoted as saying by the outlet.
Ms Carey landed facedown with the instructor on top of her. She tried to roll the instructor off and that was when she realised she was completely paralysed from waist down.
Her friend landed safely and saw her friend screaming with blood all over her face.
Ms Carey was rushed to hospital where doctors found out that her spine was broken in two places. The operated on her back and pelvis.
After recovering from surgery, Ms Carey flew back to Australia to be with her family. She went into a rehab and miraculously, began to slowly get the feeling back in her legs. She eventually started walking, but with a limp.
More than a decade after the accident, she can’t feel below her belly button and has no control of her bladder or bowel. Still, Ms Carey says she is grateful to be alive to tell her story.
She has released a book titled ‘The Girl Who Fell From The Sky’, which talks about the scary experience.