cesslon 0 #1 June 25, 2004 http://www.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,4057,9948979%255E421,00.html A 20-YEAR-OLD American missionary who survived a 90m fall down a cliff face and a freezing night with a broken neck, has been described by his rescuers as "a living miracle". Matthew Weirich was flown to safety yesterday semi-conscious and disoriented after lying for 21 hours on the valley floor of the Morton National Park, in the New South Wales Southern Highlands. He fell down the cliff just before 2pm on Wednesday after trying to retrieve a friend's shoe. Using skills he had learned as a champion pole vaulter, he landed in a thick canopy of bush and negotiated his landing to the valley below. "He's used to falling 18 foot off a pole vault, but not 230 foot," his relieved father Rick Weirich told The Daily Telegraph from the family home in Texas. A senior missionary of the Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter Day Saints, Matthew Weirich had decided to go bushwalking on a day off with three of his fellow missionaries. He was walking through rugged, steep terrain near the Grand Canyon Lookout when he fell. One of his companions' sneakers became loose as the party was "exploring the bushland" John Miller, a spokesman for Mr Weirich's church, said. The sneaker rolled down a slope in rugged, steep terrain. Mr Weirich went to retrieve it for his friend. On his way back up, shoe in hand, he lost his footing and plummeted down the cliff face in front of his horrified friends. The extent of the rugged terrain forced an initial rescue party to abandon the search on Wednesday night. Fearing the worst, rescuers resumed the search at 7am around the base of the cliff. Mr Weirich's three friends directed volunteers and police to the place where he fell and less than two hours later he was found alive. "He's a living miracle to have survived that fall and then a night out in the open," a rescue worker said. Paramedics from the Westpac rescue helicopter treated him at the scene for a neck fracture and head wound before flying him to Wollongong Hospital where he was in intensive care last night. Mr Weirich's parents Rick and Brenda are due to arrive in Sydney this morning. They learnt of his rescue on The Daily Telegraph website. A champion pole-vaulter in his home-town, Weirich's love of sport and fitness would have been a major factor in his survival, Mr Millar said. "His will to live would have seen him through the night." How he stayed alive: * After plummeting 90m, Matthew Weirich landed on a thick canopy of trees and managed to get himself down to the ground * The overnight temperature, which hovered around 3C, may have dropped his pulse sufficiently to conserve his energy * Weirich crawled 20m from where he landed but then didn't move all night ===================================== was just reading this and thought id post it here. I made up the head line though, Am curious to know wether it was a straight drop 90m's or if he simply bounced all the way down the cliff, if he fell straight 90m's and the canopy broke his fall he is a pretty lucky d00d. if that turns out to be the case maybe this could be added to a BASE saftey manual (if you fall over the cliff without ya chute, aim for a tree canopy" lol Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
