ALOR STAR: Braving strong winds and limited landing space, 25 skydivers from six countries jumped off the Alor Star Tower here yesterday. They leapt off the tower’s open deck at 105m and were on the ground within 18 seconds.
It was the first time that some of them had jumped from such a low level, which added to the challenge.
Retired army special forces captain Mohd Norizan Mohd Yunus, 42, said they had to release their parachutes within two seconds.
He said a person needed to complete at least 200 normal parachute jumps before becoming a BASE jumper.
BASE is the acronym for buildings, antennas, spans and earth – the four types of platforms from where skydivers execute their jumps.
“We were in the air for between 13 and 18 seconds only,” said Norizan, who had done 1,233 normal parachute jumps in the last 19 years.
Yesterday was his fifth BASE jump.
Canadian Linda Pouffard, 26, who was the only woman skydiver, said she could feel her heart beat in every jump she made in the last five years.
Policeman Eric Simpson, 40, from the United States, said the low level, strong winds and limited landing space made the jump more challenging.
The event was held in conjunction with the Sultan of Kedah’s birthday celebrations and was Menara Alor Star’s inaugural international jump.
The skydivers from Australia, Canada, England, Sweden the United States and Malaysia will also participate in the Kuala Lumpur Tower International Jump 2002 on Sunday where they will leap from a height of 300m
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